Meenzer

I know this is all par for the course, but seriously. Who talks like this?

Speaking of which:

You've got me thinking what other stuff like that we had around. I definitely got given this on an early birthday:

Same old same old. Could be worse.

Last name Rainbows.

As a Sporcle-head, I naturally own this T-shirt (though I don't really have the bust for it).

Been trying to think if I can dredge up anything specific from before Mexico 1986, which I remember plenty about (from Aztec Gold to that Uruguay red card in the first minute ). My first game at SJP was later that year (Man City at home) so I suppose it makes sense I can't really recall that much from before. You'd think something like Heysel might have made an impression but apparently not. We had those News of the World "pocket" football annuals around the house and I remember poring over them as a little kid. Definitely this one: ...and I reckon the ones from the years before too like the 1984-85 one, so between that, sticker albums, Football Manager on the Vic-20 and Subbuteo, I was a proper little statto before even having been to a game. Basically just a nerd waiting for internet messageboards to be invented.

Aye, but Kyrgyzstan doesn't even exist. You try chartering a plane to an imaginary destination.

Let's just cancel NZ-Peru and have the Rest Of The World as team 32. We can give Nobby a place in the starting line-up as compensation.

Aye, the South American group must be harder in that respect, since the travel is tough (albeit not that tough) and the teams are actually good. Point taken though, it's a ridiculous number of miles to cover. Then again, they chose to defect to AFC...

Great day for the sissyboy wooftahs of Australia. And the same-sex marriage vote passed too.

Even then it would have been disappointing. Needs a "Leo Varadkar, can you hear me?" for full effect.

Aye, spuds, cheese and cream notoriously leave you feeling famished. (It was as a side dish though, don't worry. )

Made the gratin at the bottom of this page tonight. I was from the north once, you know.

Or Paul Shane.

All this time I've been acting like my post-Brexit emigration Plan B is driven by financial, moral and quality of life concerns, when in fact...

The Word. Terrible but kind of amazing too. Not least because of

Can you get him as far as denying the match is even taking place? That would be quite funny.

If critically acclaimed = good, Bob Dylan would be listenable.

I prefer his brother Jovan.

We all have been at some point or another, I suppose.

I've bet on Ireland but I want Denmark to win. Am I a double cunt or does the cuntishness cancel itself out?

Aye, loved the 94 side, sneaky free kick routine, Brolin's daft mid-air celebration twirl and all. There was a really good Swedish TV documentary bringing them back together 20 years on, all the more poignant as Klas Ingesson was obviously on his way out at the time. Will look and see if anyone's put a dodgy subtitled version up anywhere.

Just looking back on Sweden's previous recent World Cup appearances. I'd forgotten they had a young Zlatan on the bench in 2002 but kept bringing on Andreas Andersson ahead of him.