The British Guardian newspaper is sluicing its website with its World Cup blogging, casting the wittiest daily pods as if it were replacing the BBC as Britain's established broadcaster, and spinning long threads in every direction that a fan could hope for.

The controversial stream that this sentence links to is of particular interest to English football fans, and some German ones too. It was started by a brave German journalist, Christoph Biermann who argues that English football has not posed a significant threat to German football since 1966, and that England is not considered a serious rival in Germany as much as Holland. In fact, where the English fume and froth at the many close, lost games against Germany in the last few major tournaments - penalty shoot-outs being a persistent fish-hook - the Germans show a maddeningly blase attitude.

This is a very good point that is not often made in England - the English generally consider the Germans arrogant and dull, but surely no team, with all their overpaid stars and disorganised midfield, is more arrogant in this World Cup than England.