England's World Cup campaign opened with defeat against Italy in the steamy heat of the Arena Amazonia in Manaus. Mario Balotelli's header just after the break settled an entertaining game after Daniel Sturridge had equalised Claudio Marchisio's fine strike. England were, ultimately, undone by defensive vulnerability in a display which possibly deserved a draw and contained plenty that would have pleased manager Roy Hodgson. But, despite the - for once, genuine - 'plenty of positives to take from the game' thing, the bottom line is that England now face a scrap for survival against Uruguay - and probably Luis Suarez - in Sao Paulo after Oscar Tabarez's men surprisingly lost to Costa Rica. England's players tired visibly towards the end of a game played in the tropical climate of Brazil's Amazonian rainforest and Hodgson must hope not too much energy has been drained from his players. There was also a blow for England's backroom staff as physiotherapist Gary Lewin was taken off on a stretcher after being injured celebrating Sturridge's goal. That sort of summed up the night, really. Liverpool Alabama Yee-Haws' Raheem Sterling made a stand-out contribution after he was selected to start and England looked a constant threat going forward until they ran out of steam in a humid and oppressive atmosphere. 
Italy produced moments of quality and struck the woodwork through Antonio Candreva and a late free-kick from Andrea Pirlo, who defied his thirty five years and the environment to stroll through the game with his trademark quality and class. England now fly back to Rio to recover knowing they will threaten any side in their group, but further repeats of defensive frailties could be fatal for their World Cup ambitions. Hodgson's decision to play Sterling ahead of Adam Lallana was a bold one - and the youngster more than repaid the faith shown in him. He illustrated exactly why Hodgson had chosen him in the opening moments with pace and a shot that flew inches wide with Italy keeper Salvatore Sirigu, deputising for the injured Gianluigi Buffon, beaten. Sirigu then saved from Jordan Henderson but Italy, with Pirlo inevitably the orchestrator, were causing problems of their own as the left-sided link of Leighton Baines and Rooney looked very much like a work in progress. England were a real threat, albeit this was coupled with flaws at the back, and it took a crucial touch from Italy defender Andrea Barzagli to divert Danny Welbeck's cross away with Sturridge waiting to apply the finishing touch. Italy took the lead on thirty five minutes, Pirlo deceiving Sturridge with a clever dummy following a corner, setting up Marchisio to drill a low shot from twenty five yards through a crowded penalty box and past Joe Hart. England needed a swift response and delivered it almost instantly. Sterling's pass cut through the right-hand side of Italy's defence and Rooney offered up the perfect invitation for Sturridge to steer in his cross at the far post. Italy ended the half on top as Phil Jagielka headed off the line from Balotelli and Candreva struck the post from a tight angle. Hodgson addressed the problems on England's left flank by switching Welbeck from the right to start the second half - but this was once again the source of problems as Italy regained the lead five minutes after the break. Baines could not prevent Candreva getting in a cross, and Balotelli escaped from Gary Cahill to score with a simple header at the far post.
Costa Rica produced a breathtaking second-half revival at Estadio Castelao to beat an unconvincing Uruguay for the first time in their history in their Group D opener. The historic victory was inspired by The Arse striker Joel Campbell, who scored one and made another in the first match in England's group. Edinson Cavani slotted in a first-half penalty to put Uruguay in front after Junior Diaz fouled Diego Lugano. But, after the break, the very impressive Joel Campbell lashed in a left-foot leveller and defender Oscar Duarte guided in a low header to give Costa Rica the lead. Substitute Marcos Ureña raced onto Campbell's through-ball and clipped his shot beyond Fernando Muslera. To make matters worse, Uruguay had Maximiliano Pereira sent off in injury time for a thoroughly spiteful challenge on Campbell.
This was Costa Rica's first World Cup victory since 2002, and only their fourth in the tournament's history, against a Uruguay side missing the injured Luis Suarez. Uruguay looked in control for the opening fifty minutes. Cavani wasted a good early chance after Costa Rica failed to clear a Diego Forlan free-kick, with the Paris St-Germain striker slicing high and wide with the goal at his mercy. He soon made up for that miss. Costa Rica defender Yeltsin Tejeda conceded a needless free-kick wide on the Uruguay left and when Forlan curled the set-piece into the area, Junior Diaz tried to stop Uruguay captain Diego Lugano by wrapping his arms around his waist. The referee pointed to the penalty spot and Cavani did the rest, steering a piercing low shot beyond Keylor Navas's dive and into the bottom corner. The goal settled nerves. Uruguay's passing improved, as did their movement. Forlan, the player of the tournament in 2010, might have made it 2-0 before half-time when his shot struck Duarte's leg, deflecting it high into the air and requiring Navas to pull off an acrobatic save. Costa Rica, though, were about to turn the game on its head with Campbell - who is yet to make his debut for The Arse despite signing for the club in 2011 - to the fore. The striker, who spent last season on loan at Olympiacos, first arrowed a shot narrowly wide from thirty yards, while Giancarlo Gonzales might have scored twice, missing a difficult headed chance and seeing a scrambled toe-poke deflected into the side-netting.
But, in the space of three second-half minutes, the game changed beyond recognition. First, Cristian Gamboa chased a seemingly lost cause wide on the right flank, reaching the ball on the byeline. He delivered a cross which flicked off the head of Celso Borges and fell to Campbell, who controlled and fired beyond Muslera. Two minutes later, they swept forward again and Walter Gargano conceded a free-kick for a crude tackle on Bryan Ruiz. Christian Bolanos's delivery was pin-point, Duarte's low header was brave, the finish sublime. With time running out, Costa Rica broke forward again and Ureña raced away from Godin and Lugano and swept the ball beyond Muslera to seal a deserved victory for Los Ticos.
Colombia made an impressive start to their Group C campaign as an early Pablo Armero strike set them on the way to a comfortable win over a very lacklustre Greece. The Napoli defender rolled in Juan Cuadrado's fifth-minute cut-back. Teofilo Gutierrez, leading Colombia's attack in the absence of the injured Radamel Falcao, then touched in from a James Rodriguez corner after the break. Theofanis Gekas headed Greece's best chance against the bar, before Rodriguez steered in a late third. It was a very solid showing from Colombia, who are looking to progress beyond the last sixteen of a World Cup for the first time after finishing runners-up to Argentina in South American qualifying. But the pressure is on attacking talents such as Gutierrez and Rodriguez to produce goals after Monaco forward Falcao, their nine-goal top scorer in the qualification campaign, was ruled out of the tournament with a knee injury.
He did his bit to help his compatriots by offering hugs and moral support to his team-mates in the tunnel before the match. And cheered on by the majority of the crowd at Estadio Mineirao in Belo Horizonte, Jose Pekerman's side responded with a goal inside the first five minutes. It was a far from spectacular goal - and television replays showed three Colombia players were standing in offside positions - but the left-back and his team-mates celebrated with an eye-catching dance in front of their bench. The craft of Monaco midfielder Rodriguez and pace of Cagliari forward Victor Ibarbo threatened repeatedly to cause further damage to the Greece back-line, although they had to be patient before the rewards came. And Pekerman's defence had to survive some difficult moments themselves, with Panagiotis Kone unable to take either of two chances that came his way. It was a frustrating afternoon for Greece, who lacked enough adventure to find a way back into the match. After the impressive Rodriguez had ended a run with a shot from outside the area that keeper Orestis Karnezis beat away, he then delivered the corner that led to Colombia's second goal, with Abel Aguilar flicking on at the near post for an unattended Gutierrez to touch in from inside the six-yard box. Gekas, preferred to Fulham striker Kostas Mitroglou in attack, capped a day to forget when he headed Vasilis Torosidis's nod back against the bar from six yards. Colombia sealed victory with a stylish late goal, as the exciting Fiorentina midfielder Cuadrado burst to the edge of the penalty area before setting up Rodriguez to guide a shot into the corner of the net.
In the wee small hours of Sunday morning, UK time, Côte d'Ivoire scored two goals in as many minutes as they came from behind to get their World Cup campaign off to a winning start with hard-fought victory over Japan. The Elephants trailed to a stunning Keisuke Honda strike in the first half. But the introduction of Didier Drogba, who started on the bench, inspired the comeback, with Wilfried Bony equalising after meeting Serge Aurier's cross. Aurier also provided the cross for former The Arse forward Gervinho to head the winner. The victory at Recife's Arena Pernambuco moved the Ivorians level on three points at the top of Group C with Colombia.
Côte d'Ivoire, appearing in their third World Cup, have never always found themselves in rock groups and have gone past the initial stages despite some impressive, eye catching performances but they will fancy their chances this time around after a spirited performance. However, it all looked to be going wrong for manager Sabri Lamouchi, who surprisingly left the former Moscow Chelski FC striker Drogba on the bench and saw his side fall behind. Asian champions Japan - the first team to qualify for the World Cup - were sharp and nimble in possession and took the lead with a goal of real quality from Honda on sixteen minutes. The AC Milan midfielder collected a pass across the box, took one touch and then drove home powerfully into the top corner with his left foot. Côte d'Ivoire had their moments, with midfielder Yaya Toure showing occasional glimpses of his destructive power, while Bony was guilty of wasting several chances. And, Cheik Tioté spent most of the match kicking people. So, no change there, then. But shortly after Drogba's introduction, Swansea striker Bony equalised, leaping to glance a fizzing Aurier cross into the far corner. Two minutes later, another drilled Aurier centre was met by Gervinho and his header squirmed past Japan goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima. Drogba twice went close to finding the net in the closing stages as Lamouchi's side finished strongly to leave Japan with an uphill battle to stay in the tournament.
Robin van Persie praised the Netherlands boss Louis van Gaal for masterminding the team's crushing 5-1 win over reigning world champions Spain. Van Persie scored two goals along with Arjen Robben, while Stefan de Vrij also netted as Spain were humbled and humiliated at Arena Fonte Nova in Salvador. But Van Persie - who led the line magnificently for the Dutchies - attributed the emphatic win to the tactics of Van Gaal, his new manager at The Scum. 'This is definitely down to him,' said the thirty-year-old. Van Persie cancelled out Xabi Alonso's penalty with a sublime diving header before goals by Bayern München's Robben (who was, also, outstanding) and Feyenoord defender De Vrij made it 3-1. Two goals in the space of eight minutes by Van Persie and Robben completed Spain's embarrassment.
'If you see how he prepared us, and how he predicted the game would go, and you see how it went - unbelievable,' added Van Persie about Van Gaal. 'For the whole Netherlands, this is a dream come true.' Van Gaal, who will take over at Old Trafford after the tournament, was delighted with his team's win. Although, you'd never have known it from his face which, to this blogger, always seems to resemble a chap whose finger has just gone through the toilet paper. 'With strikers like Van Persie, Robben and Wesley Sneijder behind them, things like this can happen,' he said. Van Gaal's side face Australia next on 18 June in Porto Alegre and the former Barcelona boss urged caution despite getting their campaign off to a flying start. 'We don't have anything yet,' he added. 'We've made a pretty start. If you beat Australia [on Wednesday], then you've made a good start.' Meanwhile, the fall out from Spain's calamitous defeat has started with goalkeeper and captain Iker Casillas accepting responsibility for the reigning champions' disastrous defeat. 'I wasn't at the level I needed to be. I have to accept all criticism. I didn't do things like I should have, especially to start a World Cup,' said Casillas, who was at fault for the third goal and was dispossessed by Van Persie for the fourth whilst trying to be clever.
Meanwhile, there was much talk in the media centred around the truly disastrous night for Casillas which occurred whilst his wife, Sara Carbonero, was reporting on the game for the Spanish broadcaster Mediaset. For those who don't know, Iker and Sara are, kind of, the Posh and Becks of Spain - he's a footballer, she's pretty and gets on TV a lot. During the 2010 World Cup it was alleged that Carbonero, reporting pitchside during the match between Spain and Switzerland, had distracted Casillas, thus causing the unexpected Swiss victory. The allegations were made in the English press, originally by Graham Keeley of The Times and later repeated by several other English newspapers, prompting the Madrid-based Spanish newspapers El Mundo, El País and Marca to all run articles suggesting that the claims were preposterous and untrue. Nevertheless, questions were also raised about Sara's journalistic integrity after she undertook to interview her then boyfriend Casillas immediately after the match. In July 2009, she was was voted 'The Sexiest Reporter in the World' by the American edition of FHM. Which sort of says it all, really. According to the Daily Scum Mail, Carbonero 'lit up the media centre' while other news outlets credited Casillas's wife as 'adding a touch of Spanish glamour' to an otherwise catastrophic night for Vicente Del Bosque's men. But, how awkward must it have been for the poor woman to have to report on her husband's shambolic performance? She was, apparently, 'as professional as ever.'
A good luck message from the Australian Prime Minister to the national football team at the World Cup was somewhat undermined when Tony Abbott got The Socceroos' captain's name wrong. Wearing a team scarf draped over his suit - and looking like a right proper plonker as all politicians do when they try to be 'blokey' and 'down with the man in the pub' - Abbott greeted skipper Mile Jedinak as 'Mike' in a video posted online before the Ange Postecoglou-coached Socceroos' Group B opener against Chile on Friday. 
Yeah. That's the sort of thing that usually happens. 'Ange, Mike [sic] and The Socceroos, in this World Cup you have the opportunity to make the world game our national game,' Abbott said. 'Throughout this cup we'll burn the midnight oil as you take the field in our name.' Almost, but not quite, as embarrassing as Ed Milimolimandi trying a similar arse-lick trick by being photographed with a copy of the Sun, which instantly offended just about everyone on Merseyside (and, indeed, beyond).
Ants have, reportedly, been found in a Uruguayan players' bed, according to a report in the Gruniad Morning Star. The team's goalkeeper, Fernando Muslera, posted a picture on Twitter of the ants but played down their significance.
'It was funny more than anything else,' he said. 'But it was fine. [The hotel staff] came straight away and changed the sheets and we slept well.'
FIFA has opened a disciplinary case against the Argentina FA in response to an incident in which players displayed a banner in support of their country's claims to the Falkland Islands. The Argentina team posed with a banner supporting a campaign to claim sovereignty of the British Overseas Territory before a 2-0 friendly win against Slovenia in La Plata on 7 June. Football's global governing body will investigate potential breaches relating to 'team misconduct' and 'prevention of provocative and aggressive actions.' The UK and Argentina, of course, went to war over the Falklands from April until June 1982. Argentina open their World Cup campaign against Bosnia-Hercegovina on Sunday, before also facing Iran and Nigeria in Group F.
Italy produced moments of quality and struck the woodwork through Antonio Candreva and a late free-kick from Andrea Pirlo, who defied his thirty five years and the environment to stroll through the game with his trademark quality and class. England now fly back to Rio to recover knowing they will threaten any side in their group, but further repeats of defensive frailties could be fatal for their World Cup ambitions. Hodgson's decision to play Sterling ahead of Adam Lallana was a bold one - and the youngster more than repaid the faith shown in him. He illustrated exactly why Hodgson had chosen him in the opening moments with pace and a shot that flew inches wide with Italy keeper Salvatore Sirigu, deputising for the injured Gianluigi Buffon, beaten. Sirigu then saved from Jordan Henderson but Italy, with Pirlo inevitably the orchestrator, were causing problems of their own as the left-sided link of Leighton Baines and Rooney looked very much like a work in progress. England were a real threat, albeit this was coupled with flaws at the back, and it took a crucial touch from Italy defender Andrea Barzagli to divert Danny Welbeck's cross away with Sturridge waiting to apply the finishing touch. Italy took the lead on thirty five minutes, Pirlo deceiving Sturridge with a clever dummy following a corner, setting up Marchisio to drill a low shot from twenty five yards through a crowded penalty box and past Joe Hart. England needed a swift response and delivered it almost instantly. Sterling's pass cut through the right-hand side of Italy's defence and Rooney offered up the perfect invitation for Sturridge to steer in his cross at the far post. Italy ended the half on top as Phil Jagielka headed off the line from Balotelli and Candreva struck the post from a tight angle. Hodgson addressed the problems on England's left flank by switching Welbeck from the right to start the second half - but this was once again the source of problems as Italy regained the lead five minutes after the break. Baines could not prevent Candreva getting in a cross, and Balotelli escaped from Gary Cahill to score with a simple header at the far post. Costa Rica produced a breathtaking second-half revival at Estadio Castelao to beat an unconvincing Uruguay for the first time in their history in their Group D opener. The historic victory was inspired by The Arse striker Joel Campbell, who scored one and made another in the first match in England's group. Edinson Cavani slotted in a first-half penalty to put Uruguay in front after Junior Diaz fouled Diego Lugano. But, after the break, the very impressive Joel Campbell lashed in a left-foot leveller and defender Oscar Duarte guided in a low header to give Costa Rica the lead. Substitute Marcos Ureña raced onto Campbell's through-ball and clipped his shot beyond Fernando Muslera. To make matters worse, Uruguay had Maximiliano Pereira sent off in injury time for a thoroughly spiteful challenge on Campbell.
Colombia made an impressive start to their Group C campaign as an early Pablo Armero strike set them on the way to a comfortable win over a very lacklustre Greece. The Napoli defender rolled in Juan Cuadrado's fifth-minute cut-back. Teofilo Gutierrez, leading Colombia's attack in the absence of the injured Radamel Falcao, then touched in from a James Rodriguez corner after the break. Theofanis Gekas headed Greece's best chance against the bar, before Rodriguez steered in a late third. It was a very solid showing from Colombia, who are looking to progress beyond the last sixteen of a World Cup for the first time after finishing runners-up to Argentina in South American qualifying. But the pressure is on attacking talents such as Gutierrez and Rodriguez to produce goals after Monaco forward Falcao, their nine-goal top scorer in the qualification campaign, was ruled out of the tournament with a knee injury.
He did his bit to help his compatriots by offering hugs and moral support to his team-mates in the tunnel before the match. And cheered on by the majority of the crowd at Estadio Mineirao in Belo Horizonte, Jose Pekerman's side responded with a goal inside the first five minutes. It was a far from spectacular goal - and television replays showed three Colombia players were standing in offside positions - but the left-back and his team-mates celebrated with an eye-catching dance in front of their bench. The craft of Monaco midfielder Rodriguez and pace of Cagliari forward Victor Ibarbo threatened repeatedly to cause further damage to the Greece back-line, although they had to be patient before the rewards came. And Pekerman's defence had to survive some difficult moments themselves, with Panagiotis Kone unable to take either of two chances that came his way. It was a frustrating afternoon for Greece, who lacked enough adventure to find a way back into the match. After the impressive Rodriguez had ended a run with a shot from outside the area that keeper Orestis Karnezis beat away, he then delivered the corner that led to Colombia's second goal, with Abel Aguilar flicking on at the near post for an unattended Gutierrez to touch in from inside the six-yard box. Gekas, preferred to Fulham striker Kostas Mitroglou in attack, capped a day to forget when he headed Vasilis Torosidis's nod back against the bar from six yards. Colombia sealed victory with a stylish late goal, as the exciting Fiorentina midfielder Cuadrado burst to the edge of the penalty area before setting up Rodriguez to guide a shot into the corner of the net. In the wee small hours of Sunday morning, UK time, Côte d'Ivoire scored two goals in as many minutes as they came from behind to get their World Cup campaign off to a winning start with hard-fought victory over Japan. The Elephants trailed to a stunning Keisuke Honda strike in the first half. But the introduction of Didier Drogba, who started on the bench, inspired the comeback, with Wilfried Bony equalising after meeting Serge Aurier's cross. Aurier also provided the cross for former The Arse forward Gervinho to head the winner. The victory at Recife's Arena Pernambuco moved the Ivorians level on three points at the top of Group C with Colombia.
Côte d'Ivoire, appearing in their third World Cup, have never always found themselves in rock groups and have gone past the initial stages despite some impressive, eye catching performances but they will fancy their chances this time around after a spirited performance. However, it all looked to be going wrong for manager Sabri Lamouchi, who surprisingly left the former Moscow Chelski FC striker Drogba on the bench and saw his side fall behind. Asian champions Japan - the first team to qualify for the World Cup - were sharp and nimble in possession and took the lead with a goal of real quality from Honda on sixteen minutes. The AC Milan midfielder collected a pass across the box, took one touch and then drove home powerfully into the top corner with his left foot. Côte d'Ivoire had their moments, with midfielder Yaya Toure showing occasional glimpses of his destructive power, while Bony was guilty of wasting several chances. And, Cheik Tioté spent most of the match kicking people. So, no change there, then. But shortly after Drogba's introduction, Swansea striker Bony equalised, leaping to glance a fizzing Aurier cross into the far corner. Two minutes later, another drilled Aurier centre was met by Gervinho and his header squirmed past Japan goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima. Drogba twice went close to finding the net in the closing stages as Lamouchi's side finished strongly to leave Japan with an uphill battle to stay in the tournament. Robin van Persie praised the Netherlands boss Louis van Gaal for masterminding the team's crushing 5-1 win over reigning world champions Spain. Van Persie scored two goals along with Arjen Robben, while Stefan de Vrij also netted as Spain were humbled and humiliated at Arena Fonte Nova in Salvador. But Van Persie - who led the line magnificently for the Dutchies - attributed the emphatic win to the tactics of Van Gaal, his new manager at The Scum. 'This is definitely down to him,' said the thirty-year-old. Van Persie cancelled out Xabi Alonso's penalty with a sublime diving header before goals by Bayern München's Robben (who was, also, outstanding) and Feyenoord defender De Vrij made it 3-1. Two goals in the space of eight minutes by Van Persie and Robben completed Spain's embarrassment.
'If you see how he prepared us, and how he predicted the game would go, and you see how it went - unbelievable,' added Van Persie about Van Gaal. 'For the whole Netherlands, this is a dream come true.' Van Gaal, who will take over at Old Trafford after the tournament, was delighted with his team's win. Although, you'd never have known it from his face which, to this blogger, always seems to resemble a chap whose finger has just gone through the toilet paper. 'With strikers like Van Persie, Robben and Wesley Sneijder behind them, things like this can happen,' he said. Van Gaal's side face Australia next on 18 June in Porto Alegre and the former Barcelona boss urged caution despite getting their campaign off to a flying start. 'We don't have anything yet,' he added. 'We've made a pretty start. If you beat Australia [on Wednesday], then you've made a good start.' Meanwhile, the fall out from Spain's calamitous defeat has started with goalkeeper and captain Iker Casillas accepting responsibility for the reigning champions' disastrous defeat. 'I wasn't at the level I needed to be. I have to accept all criticism. I didn't do things like I should have, especially to start a World Cup,' said Casillas, who was at fault for the third goal and was dispossessed by Van Persie for the fourth whilst trying to be clever.Meanwhile, there was much talk in the media centred around the truly disastrous night for Casillas which occurred whilst his wife, Sara Carbonero, was reporting on the game for the Spanish broadcaster Mediaset. For those who don't know, Iker and Sara are, kind of, the Posh and Becks of Spain - he's a footballer, she's pretty and gets on TV a lot. During the 2010 World Cup it was alleged that Carbonero, reporting pitchside during the match between Spain and Switzerland, had distracted Casillas, thus causing the unexpected Swiss victory. The allegations were made in the English press, originally by Graham Keeley of The Times and later repeated by several other English newspapers, prompting the Madrid-based Spanish newspapers El Mundo, El País and Marca to all run articles suggesting that the claims were preposterous and untrue. Nevertheless, questions were also raised about Sara's journalistic integrity after she undertook to interview her then boyfriend Casillas immediately after the match. In July 2009, she was was voted 'The Sexiest Reporter in the World' by the American edition of FHM. Which sort of says it all, really. According to the Daily Scum Mail, Carbonero 'lit up the media centre' while other news outlets credited Casillas's wife as 'adding a touch of Spanish glamour' to an otherwise catastrophic night for Vicente Del Bosque's men. But, how awkward must it have been for the poor woman to have to report on her husband's shambolic performance? She was, apparently, 'as professional as ever.'
Yeah. That's the sort of thing that usually happens. 'Ange, Mike [sic] and The Socceroos, in this World Cup you have the opportunity to make the world game our national game,' Abbott said. 'Throughout this cup we'll burn the midnight oil as you take the field in our name.' Almost, but not quite, as embarrassing as Ed Milimolimandi trying a similar arse-lick trick by being photographed with a copy of the Sun, which instantly offended just about everyone on Merseyside (and, indeed, beyond). Ants have, reportedly, been found in a Uruguayan players' bed, according to a report in the Gruniad Morning Star. The team's goalkeeper, Fernando Muslera, posted a picture on Twitter of the ants but played down their significance.
'It was funny more than anything else,' he said. 'But it was fine. [The hotel staff] came straight away and changed the sheets and we slept well.' FIFA has opened a disciplinary case against the Argentina FA in response to an incident in which players displayed a banner in support of their country's claims to the Falkland Islands. The Argentina team posed with a banner supporting a campaign to claim sovereignty of the British Overseas Territory before a 2-0 friendly win against Slovenia in La Plata on 7 June. Football's global governing body will investigate potential breaches relating to 'team misconduct' and 'prevention of provocative and aggressive actions.' The UK and Argentina, of course, went to war over the Falklands from April until June 1982. Argentina open their World Cup campaign against Bosnia-Hercegovina on Sunday, before also facing Iran and Nigeria in Group F.
