In 2006, France were galvanised by the return of legends Zinedine Zidane and Claude Makelele to force a run to the final. At Euro 2008, there was no leader to run the team, only the tactically strange decisions of astrology-loving coach Raymond Domenech to cause a group-stage exit. Now, there are accusations of a rift in the side, players not passing to each other in addition to the predictably awful team selections.

The uninspiring draw with Uruguay showed a France side bereft of any incisive passing patterns as Arsenal’s Abou Diaby was the only player who provided direction in the attack. Anelka was an isolated figure, with his clever runs in behind the defence ignored in a pedestrian performance. Govou was a strange selection and did not spring any surprises on the right flank. Spectators wondered why Malouda did not start in his place (rumours suggest a bust-up with Domenech saw him benched).

The introduction of Gignac, Henry and Malouda saw a little more threat though Domenech insisted bizarrely that Toulouse striker Gignac play wide while winger Malouda played through the middle. Despite having many talented individuals, France aren’t a team and it seems difficult to see Les Bleus progress towards the latter stages.

There was a strange sight in Argentina’s opener against Greece as Argentina manager sported a suit. The 48 year-old was animated on the touchline, probably wanting to race onto the pitch and score the second goal against Nigeria that his players couldn’t force despite the brilliance of Lionel Messi.

Maradona’s insistence of playing winger Jonas Gutierrez at right-back could have cost the South Americans, with the Newcastle midfielder’s positional sense questionable at best. Argentina could have scored more had they not come across a goalkeeper (Vincent Enyeama) in such inspirational form.

The side still appear to be a work in progress and having left big names (like Javier Zanetti, Esteban Cambiasso and Lucho Gonzalez) out of the squad, the pressure will be massive on Maradona if Argentina fail to reach the final rounds of the tournament. Selecting six strikers but only one proper full-back and seven central defenders reflects the eccentricity of El Diego. It could be this imbalance in the squad of 23 that is the downfall of Argentina.

Like France, they don’t look like massive favourites. But with Lionel Messi, anything is possible. Another side with massive expectations are England, whose eternal national optimism took another blow as they drew to the United States, who capitalised on another spill disaster, this time after goalkeeper Robert Green spilled a tame Clint Dempsey shot into the net, overshadowing Steven Gerrard’s embarrassing attempt at closing down the Fulham midfielder where he was turned twice.

It has been a poor start with none of the second-tier favourites so far showing they are capable of challenging the likes of Brazil and Spain. It is down to Germany, Holland, Italy and Portugal to prove that there are other teams with the potential of winning the World Cup.

P.S Algeria goalkeeper Faouzi Chaouchi has done his best to make Robert Green feel better by making a fumbled effort to save Robert Koren’s curled effort, gifting Slovenia a 0-1 lead in a frankly horrific game. Sadly, Green’s mistake was still worse.