I watched the World Cup opening two fixtures today and I’m sure that most of you will agree that the first was much better than the second. France v Uraguay was in my dads words, “…like watching paint dry.” The opening fixture however was a very entertaining battle with both teams showing a true desire to win. I believe that the difference between the 2 matches was that the Mexican and S Africa players injected a bit of pace into the game and therefore created more chances.

I took time today to watch Fulhams Dikgacoi today and I must say that he impressed me. We didn’t really get that many opportuntities to see him play last year and this was certainly the first time taht I have seen a full 90min of him personally. He played just infront of the back 4 and was not afraid to get stuck in. Sometimes he lost the ball a little bit too easily but that and one silly foul that gained him a yellow was his only failings in my eyes. He wasn’t interested in making the pass of the tournament but kept it nice and simple. This is all you need from a player of his position; win the ball and make a smart pass. He could fit in beside Murphy quite neatly with him winning the ball and Murphy meing the creative one. I’m not saying he is ready right now for the PL but give him time to gain experience and he could end up being another hidden gem found by Hodgson. Lets just see how he does against France and Uraguay now.

Fulham have 6 players now in the World Cup, all from different countries. Keep an eye out for them especailly Philippe Senderos of Switzerland. We also have Schwarzer (Australia), Pantsil (Ghana), Etuhu (Nigeria) and Dempsey (USA). This is such a special time for the whole World and I just hope to see some Fulham stars really shining on the World Stage.

Also, for any other female readers- how good does Dempsey look in this picture posted on the offal? What a guy!