The world cup is in the midst of the group stages, and we've already seen great football from promising players: Robben, Rosicky, Cahill.

Great to see a rejuvenated Chelsea-man Robben win the Man-of-the-Match award and with a clincal finish from Gunners' Robin Van Persie. Meanwhile his new Gunners' colleague, Rosicky, got a brace on the opener for Czech Rep with a great strike in the 57th min. Tim Cahill proved why David Moyes brought him from Millwall to the Premiership - exceptional quality.

Coach of Group Phase 1 has got to be Dutch's Guus Hiddink with the introduction super-subs Cahill and Aloisi late on in the game to snatch the win from out-of-sorts Japan.

Germany-Costa Rica opener was exhilarating, within 20 minutes we saw 3 goals floating pass nets on each side. Germany were eventual winners 4-2 and perhaps many pundits were left in shock and awe.

Best goal so far has got to be Andrea Pirlo's powershot hitting the bottom right corner of the net, beating not only the keeper but also the 9 man in the penalty box.

Enough said, My Top Eight predictions are:

Czech Rep, Brazil, Australia, Netherlands, Spain, Germany, Portugal, France