We’ve really enjoyed having the thoughts of comedian, author and football fan Mark Watson throughout the tournament, so it’s with regret that we bid him adieu here with this, his final guest blog. If you’ve enjoyed hearing his thoughts on the beautiful game, check out the football blog that Mark writes with his brother Paul, Back Of The Net. Here’s his latest thoughts on what’s been happening in South Africa:

“Since the beginning of the tournament we’ve been hearing, as we do every tournament, that the South American teams are superior to everyone else. Brazil, as in every competition staged since the 17th century, had praise showered on them by commentators: they played ‘samba football’, Kaka was the best player in the world, and their fans, to judge by the gaze of the camermen, were (as usual) all attractive women with painted faces.

The hype mounted as Brazil just about beat North Korea, overcame an Ivory Coast side whom Sven had successfully coached not to take shots at goal, and contested a match with Portugal so poor that even the players’ mothers had stopped watching by the end. By the time they saw off Chile, most of our commentators were starting to talk as if Brazil had already won the competition, and the games we were watching were to decide who came second. Only one section of the public disagreed: Brazilian journalists. They warned that this team was nowhere near as good as it claimed to be. This was generally ignored.

Meanwhile, Argentina were getting similar plaudits on the other side of the draw. Admittedly, they played some nice football, and Lionel Messi went on quite a few 145-yard runs with the ball. Maradona, who with his beard and suit looked like someone at a christening who’d never been to church before, had clearly built a decent team. But there were huge defensive problems. Again, people tended to overlook these. Argentina were on their way to the final where they’d meet Brazil. The South Americans, said all the pundits, are in a different class.

Well, the events of the past few days have showed how right the experts were. Brazil, Argentina and for that matter Paraguay were all in a different class from their European quarter-final opponents. It was a slightly worse class.

Don’t get me wrong, Brazil and Argentina showed genuine class, but when it comes down to it, they succumbed to the same leaky back four, the same dodgy discipline and the same lack of a tournament mentality as a load of ordinary, mortal teams. At the last World Cup, exactly the same happened – again, both of them went out in the quarter-finals, and European sides slugged it out for the biggest prize.

It’s time we all stopped being awed by teams just because their players have single names which look cool on the back of their shirts, and look up to Heaven when they score. God has seemingly become a Germany fan. Just like a lot of other people who massively underestimated the European sides at this tournament.

And, yes, Messi was heavily marked and hacked at by opponents, Kaka was below full fitness and was wrongly sent off, Robinho was out of practice because he could never quite be bothered to play for Man City, and so on. There are always excuses, just like there are excuses for the likes of Rooney and Ronaldo and pretty much anyone else who was meant to be good before the World Cup, and didn’t do the business. The fact is, it doesn’t matter if you’re the most glamorous side, the one that people choose on Pro Evo, the one whose players are in adverts. You either get it right at the World Cup or you don’t. It’s Germany and Holland and Spain who have managed that, and now one of them – not one of the South Americans – will be World Champions.”

Mark is touring the length and breadth of the country in the forseeable future. For details of tour dates, head over to www.markwatsonthecomedian.com