Brazil and Argentina get testy, North Korea mock Spain

Police had to break up clashes of Brazil and Argentina supporters and North Korean news lambasted 'worn out' Spain after their World Cup exit.

Army officers look on from the stands during the 2014 World Cup match between Argentina and Iran on Saturday. Quinn Rooney / Getty Images / June 21, 2014

Nasty neighbours

Fans of World Cup hosts Brazil clashed with supporters of rivals Argentina yesterday, leaving one person injured and at least one arrested, police said. Police used stun grenades after the skirmish erupted in the early hours in the southeastern city of Belo Horizonte, where Argentina took on Iran later in the day. The violence began when fans lobbed bottles and then scuffles broke out, police said. Tens of thousands of Argentines have poured into Brazil for the World Cup and there are fears a hooligan element among them will cause trouble, though there have been few outbreaks of violence. Officials said on Friday they were boosting security at all 12 venues after two incidents at Rio’s Maracana stadium.

Unhappy returns

As if an early exit from the World Cup in Brazil was not depressing enough for England, now they return to the scene of their infamous loss to a team of American amateurs six decades ago. It was in Belo Horizonte, where the current team play their last Group D match against Costa Rica on Tuesday, that then much-feared England lost 1-0 in 1950 in one of the World Cup’s greatest upsets. “The English were known as the kings of football at the time, so it was a really black day for them,” said US author Geoffrey Douglas, whose book The Game Of Their Lives recounts the story. So confident were the 1950 England team that they left out wing wizard Stanley Matthews to be fresh later on. The American line-up included a postman, hearse driver, wallpaperer and the goal-scorer, New York dishwasher Joe Gaetjens. Legend also has it that some London media assumed a digit was missing and 0-1 actually meant 10-1 to England.

North Korea take notice

Spain’s shock elimination from the World Cup has attracted scrutiny from North Korean state media, which more usually run vitriolic attacks on the country’s enemies and glowing reports on the activities of leader Kim Jong-un. North Korean fans said Spain’s intricate “tiki-taka” passing style was “worn out” after the footballing giant’s early exit from the tournament, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported. Yu Myong-uk, an official of North Korea’s football association, told KCNA he was “very surprised” at Spain’s “disgraceful defeat” at the hands of the Netherlands. “It seems to me that Spanish tiki-taka is going bankrupt,” he said.

Full devotion to her man

Like many people around the world, Yasmim Cesar is a fan of Portugal’s World Player of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo. Unlike most, though, she has a large blue “CR7” tattoo just below her left collarbone. And when Cesar, 20, has children, she says she plans to call them Cristiano and Ronaldo. Cesar was in the crowd late on Friday when the Portuguese team arrived at their hotel in Manaus ahead of today’s Group G game against the United States. “There are people in Brazil who say Cristiano Ronaldo is arrogant, but for those who really know him he is a nice guy,” said Cesar, who bought a gold coloured necklace with a cross to give to Ronaldo but did not manage to get near him.

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