World Cup Diary June 24

From Sukhdev in South Africa......

I woke up yesterday morning to see that there was a guard posted at the front door with a big stick. Of course he was sound asleep and snoring loudly. Maybe a new type of deterrent tactic I'm obviously oblivious to.

At Cape Town airport, I picked up my world cup tickets. I was walking around with a massive smile on my face. There were so many fans in the airport, it really felt like I was finally in the mix. When I got to Port Elizabeth there was big taxi line. With this in mind, you and the taxi driver both know you are going to get ripped off on the fare. Why, therefore does the taxi driver try to justify the price. Just tell me the pain!

Anyway, being at the England game was amazing. Great atmosphere with the singing drowning out the vuvuzelas. It felt like a home game with only a couple of pockets of Slovenia fans. England had a good game, and the performance was much better. Rooney still seems a little out of sorts, and it was good to see him brought off in the second half. There were a few moments when we had our hearts in our mouths as Slovenia moved forward, not least when Terry had to block a shot in the second half at last second. Overall, we had a number of chances and should have got the second.

The only deflater came when news spread of USA's late goal and that we had finished second. It was doubly bad for me, as my tickets were based on England winning the group. But nothing was going to dampen the English spirits as a chorus of "we're not going home" and "bring on the Germans" rang round the stadium (and the bars later).

That night, the English partied hard on the Boardwalk. As the Germany vs Ghana game came on, there were a few Germans in the bars, but overwhelmingly outnumbered by the English. The Germans had to endure a round of "5-1, even Heskey scored", but we knew they were going to be our next opponents. Bring on the Germans!