Superstition is everywhere: Porcupine Leon bites into a pear with a Spanish flag at Chemnitz Zoo, July 6. The zoo's 'animal oracle' tips the winner for Germany's FIFA World Cup 2010 matches. Photo: Oliver Killig, picture alliance / © dpa

One thing is certain: This year at least one team will have its revenge against the proverbial bad luck.

Many teams have this, but Spain, Holland and Germany most represent the classic teams that play “the beautiful game”, that merit the title, but yet don’t win it. But don’t forget – there is also an outsider here in Uruguay in this magnificent quartet.

A square in Buenos Aires following the Germany-Argentina match July 3, Photo: www.lanacion.com.

This was somewhat expected. In Buenos Aires, days before the match there were comments with an undertone like, “mmm…now we’ve reached one with Germany”. The Argentines celebrated all the victories of Diego Maradona’s national team: the first one in the match against Nigeria, then the one with South Korea, with Greece and then Mexico. But the schedule said that Argentina had to meet Germany in the quarter finals yet again. Perhaps there was an assumption of a defeat for the Argentinean squad. And we didn’t exaggerate.

Ghana’s Isaac Vorsah (l) consoles his teammate Kwadwo Asamoah after their defeat in penalties at the World Cup Quarter Finals against Uruguay July 2. Photo: picture alliance / dpa

Friday, July 2 is a day many African football fans would love to forget. Holding onto hope for 90 minutes and then for another 30 minutes, everything faded into a sense of hopelessness.

After Asamoah Gyan squandered a last-minute penalty kick by hitting it wide to the crossbar, and a further sheepish kick by Captain John Mensah, everything went silent here in Mombasa City.

The Black Stars have none but themselves to blame for their exit. They painted the entire African sky black with darkness.

John Pantsil of Ghana celebrates the team’s victory with a national flag after the 2010 World Cup round of 16 match against the United States June 26, 2010. Ghana won 2-1 and qualified for the round of 8. Photo: picture alliance / Photoshot

It was a weekend like no other in Nairobi. With only one African team left in the round of 16, the match between Ghana and the United States was a must see. Everyone in town was talking about the clash. After the final whistle, the US saw stars, black in colour I guess. Truly, the superpower had been outdone.

Japan's Yuichi Komano (Top) vies with Paraguay's Edgar Barreto during the 2010 World Cup round of 16 match on June 29, 2010. Japan lost 3-5 in a penalty shootout. Photo: picture alliance / landov

I like the Asian teams this year; they are real racers in this World Cup, always ready to bring their opponents to task, sometimes just by running for their own lives. Although North Korea’s role in the loosing column looked to possibly end with their promising start and their relatively small defeat by the Brazilians, this was not to remain so in the following group matches.

2010 World Cup, Photo: (c) Rick Bosch

A World Cup experience is unique, regardless of its host nation. South Africa is putting its best foot forward and here are some of my thoughts after being lucky enough to attend two of the group matches in Cape Town. The first game I attended was the very first game to be hosted in the Mother City and it was on a bizarre kind of day. One of those unique ‘never-to-be-repeated’ kind of days. “Why?” I hear you asking, well, let me tell you.

Germany’s Miroslav Klose celebrates his goal in the national team’s match against England in the second round of the 2010 World Cup. Germany went onto win 4:1. Photo: picture-alliance / M.i.S.-Sportpressefoto

So yesterday was “Der Klassiker”, as it’s known. The two European nations whose armed forces locked horns on a monolithic scale twice in one century, who threw entire generations of their youth into the slaughter and who, now that the age of tank battles and D-Day-landings is thankfully past, carry on their mythic struggle on the football pitch: England vs. Germany.

Now, as an Englishman living in Germany by choice, you might expect this to be a difficult moment for me – a kind of civil war of the heart, a question of torn loyalties and a long, heartfelt weighing up of allegiances.