Two weeks have passed since Bebé was announced as Manchester United’s latest signing of the summer but the decision to invest £7m in the unknown Portuguese striker got even more intriguing this week when he was overlooked for selection for a reserve game against Manchester City. Bebé arrived in England amidst unsubstantiated reports that he had once turned out in the Homeless World Cup, but United’s coaching staff decided that he was not yet ready even for a place on the second string’s bench for the game in Hyde on Tuesday night.

Following the announcement of Fabio Capello’s first squad since it all went Emmanuel Frimpong in South Africa, ineptitude in the England ranks appears to have given way to unwillingness. On Sunday, hours after being called up for the friendly with Hungary this Wednesday, first Paul Robinson and then Wes Brown opted to retire from international [...]

Teams from the UEFA region have been outperformed by their rivals from across the Atlantic so far in the tournament. All five of South America’s representatives at the World Cup survived the group stage. By and large, they have been better to watch than many of the European sides too.

According to the Sunday Times, England’s players are urging Fabio Capello to include Joe Cole from the start in next Wednesday’s decisive group game against Slovenia. The players’ pleas echo those of England supporters. Cole has yet to feature in South Africa but fans of the national side are championing the Chelsea forward’s cause, seeing [...]

Jong Tae-se wept during the North Korean national anthem before his country’s opening game against Brazil on Tuesday night, but those watching this World Cup at home could be forgiven if they had already been bored to tears.

Even if Adidas’ Jabulani ball does lead to a few improbable strikes at the World Cup, and even if some keepers fall foul of trying to catch it, could we all stop moaning about it please?

Rio Ferdinand is now almost certain to miss the World Cup after picking up a knee injury in England’s first training session. The team captain will seek a second opinion following the bleak verdict of the initial scan but Michael Dawson is set to fly out as his replacement within the next day.

Gareth Barry has until Tuesday to prove his fitness to Fabio Capello and secure a place in the England squad for the World Cup. But his teammates have been doing their best to state Barry’s case for selection even while his ankle injury continues to put his participation in the group stage in doubt. England [...]

Beating the best side in North America two months after a victory against the best side in Africa should be a cause of optimism for England in their quest to become the best side in the world, but Monday night’s 3-1 win over Mexico at Wembley was as qualified a success as the defeat of [...]

Inter Milan continue to dominate Italian football and have finally taken that form into European competition. However, while fans in this country are constantly fretting about the difficulty that English players face in securing a place in Premier League clubs’ first elevens, it is worth pointing out that Inter’s starting line-up for Saturday night’s Champions League final against Bayern Munich will, almost certainly, be bereft of Italian players.