I realise that the British Justice System can often be a misnomer and that we can’t honestly expect the courts to provide an adequate punishment for spoilt brat, “bad boy” footballers who throw the toys out of their pram on the pitch but who really made the decision for the Crown Prosecution Service to take Lee Bowyer to court?

Surely having the knowledge that the former Newcastle United thug would get a financial slap on the wrist from the courts (?600 plus ?1000 court costs) would be enough of a reason not to bother taking this case but no, the CPS knew best and have both wasted the courts’ time, taxpayer’s money and resources and ended up with Bowyer virtually walking free after committing no more of a crime than countless rugby, ice hockey and Gaelic football players are “guilty” of every week.

I’m not defending players who have a punch up on the field of play (especially teammates like Bowyer and Kieron Dyer) but having already been fined around ?250,000 by his then club Newcastle and the Football Association and banned for seven games does anyone think an extra ?1600 (which he probably paid straight out of his overstuffed wallet) will make Bowyer think twice about his actions in future? Hardly.

What a waste of time and effort. Justice? Don’t make me laugh.

Going by past results, it’s difficult to know how Portugal will do against France today. The Portugese didn’t excite or impress during the group stages, but still managed three comfortable wins. They defeated a talented, attacking Holland squad but it was really more of a street brawl than a proper football match, outside of that wonderful goal from Maniche. And finally, they sent home an England team that underwhelmed, but they were playing without two suspended starters in midfield in Deco and Costinha.

The two will be back for the semifinal and this should worry the French. When Zinedine Zidane is in form, France follows suit. But when he is looking like the old man who is about to retire, as he did in the first part of the tournament, Les Bleus have problems. Viera, Ribery, and Malouda have been very strong in midfield, but can they dictate a match like Zidane does. What happens if one of the Portugese midfielders cancels out Zidane and the French lose their playmaker?

The key will be Viera. He may need to play the match of his life, both stopping Deco, and then providing enough offensive support to keep the French attack fluid. Both teams will play a 4-5-1, which means a very crowded midfield. For France to win, they will have to be better at setting Thierry Henry free. And it might mean David Trezeguet or Louis Saha coming on late for more options up front.

Another factor may be that Zidane, Ribery, Thuram, and Willy Sagnol are all on yellow cards. How will they balance the need to get stuck in against the very tough Portugese with the desire to potentially not miss the final?

Despite being coached by the great Felipe Scolari, despite the fact that Ronaldo and Figo will keep the French very, very busy and stretched in the midfield, and despite the fact that they’ve only conceded one goal the entire tournament, I cannot see Portugal in the World Cup Final (which almost certainly means they’ll be there).

France 1 Portugal 0

Injury Update: It seems both Christian Ronaldo and Luis Figo have injuries and trained separately from the Portugese team on Tuesday. Scolari says that Ronaldo has a better chance of recovering but has not ruled either of them out. It’s the World Cup semifinal?.they’ll be there.

The most intriguing aspect to today’s semi-final between Italy and Germany is the fact that there is no way to predict what will happen, as we have no idea which Germany or Italy will show up.

For Italy, will it be the goal scorers who pressed forward and ran riot over the sorry Ukrainians, or the team that rode their luck through 90 minutes against Australia.

And which Germany team will walk out tonight in Dortmund? Will it be the brave and solid Germans who have steadily and consistently impressed throughout this tournament or will they be the team that looked completely lost and overwhelmed during the first half hour against Germany.

Both teams have injuries that may not make a difference. Italy will be missing Alberto Nesta, one of the worlds great defenders, but have ample replacements in Marco Matterazi and Andrea Barzagli.

German midfielder Torsten Frings is suspended for the semi-final after an altercation with Argentina’s Julio Cruz. Tim Borowski, who earlier in the tournament substituted for Michel Ballack, is likely to come into the side. He is an energetic player who is also a serious scoring threat. The problem for Germany comes if either he or Ballack are hurt.

On paper, there is very little between these two teams. Both have world class goalkeepers. Both have strikers who are currently very much in form. Both have midfields that can control the game, and organized, strong defenses. They deciding factors may be the fact that Germany will be playing on their home soil and Ballack will be working extra hard to play in a final, as he missed out due to suspension in 2002.

Germany to win 2-1?

I’m struggling to remember such a turnaround in public perception regarding a player as that of the English footballing fans’ aboutface over Owen Hargreaves. Booed on and off the pitch in pre-tournament games, derided and ridiculed in the press and pubs up and down England before a ball had been kicked and even the odd comment that he wasn’t really English anyway.

Funny how it had taken a complete reversal by the time Cristiano Ronaldo and his Portuguese chums began to celebrate their penalty shootout victory and Owen Hargreaves tears were seen as actually being deserved. Frank Lampard, David Beckham and Rio Ferdinand had no right to cry over the spilt milk they had helped cause. Their ineffective, uninterested outlook on the pitch was in complete contrast to that of the curly haired midfield destroyer so despised by the England faithful and yet it was Hargreaves’ all action performance against Portugal which earned the applause and respect of the nation.

Covering every blade of grass the Bayern Munich man led by example, sadly an example that bigger name, more fancy dan teammates like Lampard and the disappointing Steven Gerrard, couldn’t follow and in a side bereft of ideas, craft or guile, the guts, hard work and determination of the Canadian won the hearts of England fans and stuck two fingers up at the press who had been all too quick to jump on his back before the tournament started.

Now Hargreaves wants a move to the Premiership and there will be a slightly longer queue to pick him up than there would have been back in May or early June.

- Arsenal - If Real Madrid’s new president Ramon Calderon makes good on his promise to buy Cesc Fabregas, Arsenal will be very light in central midfield.

- Manchester United - Manchester United may well have Michael Carrick’s transfer all wrapped up but he doesn’t offer the bite of Hargreaves and a midfield pairing of these two England internationals could be the base they use to challenge Chelsea next year.

- Chelsea - Don’t be surprised to see the Russians leap in if ony to keep the player from signing for one of the two sides above. The spoilers missed out on Didier Zokora who followed his heart rather than his wallet to Spurs and mightn’t want to risk losing another chance to steal a march on their rivals.

- Liverpool - A central midfield of Steven Gerrard and Xabi Alonso is as good as the Premiership has to offer, no real need barring injury.

- The rest of the Premiership - Everton may sniff, as could West Ham but neither would have the pulling power (or possibly the finances) to snare the Bayern Munich man.

Funny what a difference 120 minutes and tears after scoring in a penalty shootout makes, isn’t it?

Though his team finally showed signs of life in the quarterfinals, England coach Sven Goran Eriksson never quite figured out what to make of the players he had. Can Wayne Rooney play as a lone striker or should he have a partner? Does Peter Crouch’s presence cause the team to forget to play to the feet? How many and which strikers are/were necessary? How can Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard replicate their club form while playing on the same team? Is a not quite healthy Gary Neville preferred to someone else at right back?

These questions and more haunted Erikkson throughout the tournament and he never seemed to answer any of them. Instead he threw the dice before each match, hoping it would all work out.

Wayne Rooney, after recovering from his metatarsal injury, proved he could play as a lone striker, but without anyone ever coming forward properly from the midfield he was often playing against two or three defenders. A partner upfront would have been helpful. Gerrard and Lampard were supposed to alternate playing in the attacking midfielder role, and score plenty of goals in that position for their country, but Lampard’s shooting was awful throughout the tournament and Gerrard seemed lost in his non-Liverpool role. It is certainly time for England to consider playing in a 3-5-2 formation.

Possibly the key pre-tournament decision was, in the end, the decision to bring Theo Walcott instead of a proven striker. Not once did the 17-year-old feature for England, but Erikkson even intimated that he wasn’t ready. After Michael Owen’s ligament damage, that left only two “ready” strikers and not a lot of options. Crouch played very well but never had anyone to pass to once he collected the long balls.

The key in-tournament decision was most certainly Jose Pekerman’s decision to take off Juan Riquelme with Argentina leading 1-0 against Germany. Not only did the South Americans lose their key playmaker and the man who’d had more touches than any other player during the tournament, but the substitution was a clear signal to everyone that the Argentinians would go into a defensive shell and never return. They never looked the same after, and 8 minutes later the Germans scored. Instead of having the shape and resolve to come back from this, Argentina never looked organized and were certain to not threaten again, which they didn’t.

After an ignominious end to his World Cup campaign due to injury before the penalty shoot out defeat against Portugal, David Beckham has now announced that he is relinquishing the role of England captain in preparation for the installation of new coach Steve McLaren.

Beckham told the press conference:

“I feel the time is right to pass on the armband as we enter a new era under new coach Steve McClaren.”

Whether this means the end of the Real Madrid man’s England career is doubtful although the player himself has said he has no intention of retiring from international football at this time. As McLaren has essentially been the main man behind the England setup all along under Sven Goran Eriksson it would be a huge surprise to see the influential former skipper excluded.

After a disappointing tournament a change of the old guard might just be what England needs though as they now look ahead to the European Championships in two years time. Aaron Lennon provided pace, skill and excitement down the right hand side after replacing the injured Beckham and for an English public more used to the long ball sprayin, pedestrian style of their Golden Balls captain it may have been a real glimpse of the future.