My View: World Cup fever has eclipsed any other sporting achievement

I was determined not to become the archetypal grumpy old woman during the month-long football World Cup.

I was determined to get behind my country and try not to bemoan the fact that the rest of the country seemed to have lost its senses. But within a week, well in truth a few days, my resolve was broken.

First there was the quality of the football played by our over paid and over-rated players. I may not know a great deal about our so called national sport, although I think I have mastered the off-side rule, but surely it shouldn't be like watching paint dry. In fact, I think

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that would have been preferable to the two England performances I have been subjected to.

Then there was the attitude of the players when things weren't going their way. Why do they think they are beyond criticism when fans have spent their hard-earned cash to travel to South Africa to watch their team?

But even after all that there was still the hope that the famous Dunkirk sprit would prevail and the Three Lions on their shirts would roar for their country against the odds.

Not a bit of it. Even before today's crucial game they were busy finding someone to blame in case things went from bad to worse. What sort of role models are they being for our children? No team spirit, no loyalty, they appear to be in it for what they can get and in most cases that is millions.

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It seems the days have gone of it being enough just to play for your country, you have to make a vast fortune in the process and try to make sure that no one blames you if things go wrong.

But probably what irritated me more is the attitude towards the World Cup from the vast army of fans. I still don't understand why every time there is a World Cup we kid ourselves that we are going to win and then seem shocked when we don't walk it.

Vast swathes of the country seemed gripped with World Cup fever as if it was the only sport being played at the moment.

Did anyone spot any build up to Wimbledon this year? And what about England beating the Australians at rugby last weekend? And the first British man in decades to win the US Open? But the coverage in comparisons to the childish squabbling in South Africa has been minimal.

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I am just hoping that today may bring some vestige of pride back to English football. That the spoilt likes of Wayne Rooney stop moaning about what is going wrong and just put it right.

And if we lose at least let's hope that they tried their best and don't look for someone to blame and that we can all get back to watching the tennis.