The last 15 minutes of Slovakia’s 3-2 victory over the reigning world champions were probably the most exciting of the tournament so far.
They were also the most histrionic as the Italian players needed little encouragement to throw themselves to the ground and writhe around in agony as if auditioning for a role in a war film.
The Slovakians, who all looked quite fearsome to me, clearly thought this was a splendid idea and joined in the feigned distress, although not with the same gusto as the Azzurri.
English referee, Howard Webb, looked a little bemused by it all and it is to his credit that he did not let the dramatics spoil an excellent spell of football.
That said, who could fail to get carried away with the World Cup at the moment. It has emerged from its tepid start to become a really engaging tournament and, in the truly fickle nature of a football fan, I have veered from apathy to anxiety to unbridled optimism about England’s chances in the space of a week.
The next step on this journey is usually despair, but the weather is promising an excellent weekend so why not put realism to one side for a couple of days and get carried away.
