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4.45pm: Here's our World Cup final squad sheet. JD

4.35pm: The Spanish press isn't too chuffed with Howard Webb's appointment as referee for the World Cup final. Spanish sports daily Marca declared: "Bad news - Webb will referee the final." AS said Webb's appointment was "debatable" and that he had made two mistakes in the game against Switzerland. Mundo Deportivo was equally despondent: "Bad memories for La Rocha ." JD

4.15pm: Some links for your Friday afternoon perusal: Jonathan Wilson tackles The Question and analyses what the tactical lessons of this World Cup are; a fancy audio-visual slideshow of the tournament; Sid Lowe on the rise and rise of Pedro; and Simon Burnton on why this final World Cup weekend really only boils down to the octopus v the parakeet. JD

3.55pm:It 's all from me now. . Thanks for all your emails. James Dart and Gregg Roughley will keep you updated with any major news over the next hour or so. Enjoy the weekend. Barney.

3.52pm: Ah. On hitting a Gunnell Oliver Gamble writes: "You'll find the answer here…" It's not very gallant is all I can say.

3.51pm: Jon in London notes "I would think playing with "gay abandonment" would sum up England's style against Germany perfectly". And no one has explained what hitting "a Sally Gunnell" in golf means.

3.49pm:Ben Smith mastering the noble words, is how little arrogant posh middle-aged man can. "You say that there are no gay footballers but I must say, the Brazilians looked very pleased with everything, until they are thrown out of the competition." According to this criterion gay footballer in the world, probably, Ronaldinho. He always looks like he 'in hysterics.

3.46pm: Cathal Chu wants to set the record straight: "Tessa Sanderson never emerged from Fatima Whitbread's shadow? Three words: Olympic Gold Medal in the 1984 Games (okay, that's 7 words, but you get the drift)." Of course. But I'm talking about star quality, not just what she does with here pole. Fatima was the daddy in that set-up.

3.36pm: On Cram John Laycock writes: "Talking of Steve brings back good memories for me. Shared a round of golf with him in Sydney 2000 and after I'd thinned a tee shot down the fairway he was quick to point out (and also the first time I'd heard this) that I'd just hit a "Sally Gunnell". Bit harsh being they were team mates mind..." I don't get it.

3.35pm: Ewan Dunnet wonders: "Talking of Argentina playing 'with gay abandon' I am curious if there were any openly gay footballers at this years world cup. Or is the game still stuck in its perpetuating motion of closing closet doors?" There are gay footballers. But there are no out gay footballers. Not any anywhere in the world.

3.30pm:

3.29pm:John Owens said: "Re link at 3 pm post. You will notice that unreliable pen against Holland gave an Englishman?" His omen, like nobody else ... "And there are no protests. I also think that this is the first ever World Cup of diving - a Cruyff turn a landmark moment.

3.23pm:Steve Cram exclusive.... Steve Cram exclusive.... [note: please imagine this scrolling across your screen like a news ticker] Steve Cram also says that Spain are a bit boring to watch. Let me stress that this is just Steve Cram's view and not necessarily the view of this blog. In fact, in Cram's view what this World Cup lacks is a team that plays "with gay abandon". I would suggest Argentina played "with gay abandon", but I get the rangy middle distance legend's point.

3.18pm: More news on the octopus-ink/athletics-greats-of-the-1990s nexus. I can now confirm exclusively following a similar phone interview scenario that Steve Cram knows that an octopus can squirt ink. As did Steve Backley (see below). In fact today has yet to provide a single track and field star who shares Paul Doyle's ignorance of this aspect of animal behaviour. I wonder what Fatima Whitbread's stance is.

3.00pm: David Sheeran has this to say (and finally someone has got round to having a look at the Cruyff predictions): "Let me get this straight; according to Cruyff the Netherlands "shouldn't play on the counter against Spain and they shouldn't try to outplay Spain." So what's Cruyff suggesting the Netherlands do? Capitulate like his team did against West Germany in 1974? Is that what he's suggesting?" Capitulate seems harsh. Slightly iffy German penaltyin this game.

2.53pm: Sage commentary from Jeremy Purcell: "On the naming of creatures based on what they do, it's not good news for fans of Bastian Schweinsteiger, or "Pig-climber" in his native vernacular. One ventures he won't be volunteering for the German TV version of "Who Do You Think You Are?" with ancestors like that."

2.45pm: Saul Gerrero muses: "No one seems to have bothered watching the visit by Queen Sophia to the spanish dressing room, a shame since it's full of titbits, like: is the secret to the spanish team the fact that the Queen is taller than half of them? did Puyol fail to clap at the end because he had to choose between loyalty or dignity? what were they kicking about, dirty underwear? can you imagine your Queen hugging Fabio, punching Green on the arm and shaking the hand of a half-naked Rooney?" Daily, and nightly, I imagine that.

2.42pm: Julian Menz has had an idea: "Given Schweinsteiger's successful transition from nominal "winger" to classy central midfielder, maybe we could do the same with Lennon-Walcot-Phillips. Or maybe not." But... I do think there is something in what you say. English players are oigeon-holed at a very young age, often for reasons of bulk and height. Maybe SWP is in fact the great Xavi manque of his generation. He is also small and nippy with good ball control. He's just never had the chance because in England he looks like a winger and given the opportunity to reinvent himself in a new, hyper-modern, playmaking central... I'm sorry I can't go on with this.

2.28pm: The new When Saturday Comes Weekly Howl is out. By far the most vaguely diverting weekly football email. This week it contains this information on the relatively mysterious Bert Van Marwyck: "Holland's coach started his playing career at his home town club as the quintessential gifted but headstrong winger with a playboy reputation." You wouldn't have guessed.

2.24pm:

2.13pm: Ben Quarless has this: "Just found some Octopus newsYou might be interested person in Istanbul sells a distant relative of Paul octopus, Polat, correctly predicted Denizlispor will be relegated from the Turkish Super League this year. "Sigh. This is something that FIFA mean by" economic benefit performances World Cup? Flogging novelty octopus.

2.12pm: But wait! Premier League referee chief Mike Riley says Howard Webb getting the final is "fantastic recognition for English refereeing and should act as an inspiration for all young referees wanting to enter into the game." So we may not be breeding players but we do have a production line of oddballs with notebooks.

2.08pm: Some news just in. The head of Spain's La Liga Jose Luis Astiazaran has said the Premier League is "failing to invest" in young English players. In other news: Jose Luis Astiazaran believes Spain may be quite good at passing the ball; Jose Luis Astiazaran reveals Kings Cross St Pancras is a big railway station in London; and Jose Luis Astiazaran slams fugitive Raoul Moat as "unlikely to make it" as a police community support officer.

2.00pm:This is a link to the MVB 's Facebook page helpful. It's pretty strange. He seems to be something in the eyes of mostly rice.

1.58pm: Thomas van den boom has a brilliant name. He also has a kind word for Mark Van Bommel, who, I have to say, I'm fairly well disposed towards myself. "Like your totally biased bashing of MVB, but the give the man a break (being from Limburg is hard enough...) Here's a link you might like to "put some oil on the fire"."

1.56pm: Will Morrison notes: "What has Asamoah Gyan done to be on the list? I presume he was the most prominent and most successful African player. 2 penalties, and a good goal against the US I'll grant you, but when he had the chance to win the game he failed. Probably cruel of me, but this selection smacks of 'let's have an African player on the list' from FIFA." I think the lad done all right. I think it's a fair choice. Makes more sense than Messi.

1:54 pm: On self-naming animals Alex Papakyriacou is raising, Bono-like, the plight of the wildebeest: "They didn't even bother with thinking up a name or looking at what it actually does. It's a beast, in the wild (like many other beasts). Just smacks of a lack of effort."

1.49pm: Gadi Abraham fumes: "If Wesley Sneijder follow your live blog he just had a heart attack. Seeing as you left him off of the Golden Ball shortlist. And Robben is listed. If Sneijder gets his information from this blog, there's the Netherlands' world cup chance scuppered." Do you think Sneijder reads this blog? Wesley? Are you there? And Andrew Thomas is offering respect to the ant-eating community: "I've always thought that "ant-eater" was a term of respect, like a title awarded to some mediaeval knight. Like Dragon-Slayer, or Smasher-of-the-French, or something. After all, I've never tried, but I imagine eating ants is a tricky and frustrating process."

1.44pm: Arjen Vandoom has pointed out an omission: "Hey, on the Live Blog Sneijder is missing in your list." Sorry about that. Not sure how it happened. No offence to the twinkle-toed all-conquering goblin-faced Dutch soccer god. He's my man of the tournament. And David Wall is here all week: "Glad to see from your picture that after his month in South Africa Howard Melton

1.21pm: What about those Golden Ball finalists. Lionel Messi stands out a bit, and not in a particularly good way. He did play quite well, but it seems a little odd to pick him in that list.

1.17pm:Here 's exclusive excerpt from Howard Webb factfile we've been sent. "1971: Born Howard Melton Webb, July 14 in Rotherham, South Yorkshire." I'm seeing Hollywood biopic movie options. I'm seeing Bruce Willis as Howard Webb. Not sure who plays Graham Poll. Sir Ian McKellen? Queen Latifah?

1.15pm: Meritt Moseley has more on the ant-eater self-naming phenomenon: "sidewinder (snake), dirt-dauber, or mud-dauber (kind of wasp that builds its nest from mud),
rattlesnake, firefly. In America we have an insect called a stinkbug." Yes, but none perhaps quite as insulting as "ant-eater". It's so demeaning for the species.

1.14pm: On the list for the young p[layer award (see below) Stephen Wilson : points out: "Mesut Ozil is 21 and has been a revelation - surely a candidate for Young Player of the Tournament?" True. A baffling omission. Maybe Germany only get one.

1:12 pm: On Howard Webb-mania (and if you can check out the first three pages of The Times sports section today: it's Webb all over) Eromosele Edeawe notes: "I hope BBC/ITV don't spend the whole game praising Howard Webb's decisions." This is a futile hope. They'll have a camera on the linesmen.

Hello again. Thanks Gregg. Barney here again. Sorry for the brief absence from the blog (was doing an interview for Indian TV and also guesting on the Guardian Daily news podcast with some normal, well-informed, widely-travelled people who know about stuff other than sport). I'm back here for the rest of the day now and you can once again email me your thoughts on barney.ronay@guardian.co.uk.

1pm: Fifa have unveiled their 10 nominees for the Golden Ball (player of the tournament).

Here 's the list: David Villa (Spain), Diego Forlan (Uruguay), Andres Iniesta (Spain), Lionel Messi (Argentina), Mesut Oezil (Germany), Asamoah Gyan (Ghana), Arjen Robben (Netherlands) Bastian Schweinsteiger (Germany), Xavi Hernandez (Spain).

No Xabi Alonso! And who has been the worst player on that list? I'd say Lionel Messi. He ran around a lot, didn't score and was trying too hard in most games. But, well, he's Messi isn't he ...

Given that this list I 'D say that' s between Bastian Schweinsteiger, Diego Forlan and David Villa. Villa evaluation, if the latter would be his. GR

12.14pm: Hello, Gregg Roughley here. Just filling in while the boys are away lunching. I see Xabi Alonso has been made fun of a few posts below here for his gushing praise of his Spain team-mates but, for all that those quotes might make him sound like a teary-eyed teen talent queen, he's been my player of the tournament: never afraid to pick the ball up deep under intense pressure (unlike Barry, Lampard and Gerrard) he has been Spain's metronome (not Xavi, as some commentators have suggested) and his range of passing together with the strength of character not to become flustered when things haven't been going Spain's way, has been a joy to watch. All right, I'll admit it: I've got a football man-crush on him in much the same way as I used to have one on Jan Molby when I was a wee nipper. GR

11.54am: Neil Perry has this from Oslo: "Running with the Norwegian literal-translation riff, while watching the group stage here in Oslo I was momentarily confused by the presence of a team called Elfenbenskysten, until I realised it was the boys from "Elephant Bone Coast"." Is it a bone? Or a tooth?...Oh dear. Have I just revealed an embarrassing wildlife knowledge lapse?

11.51am: This just in. Xabi Alonso gushing about his team-mates: ""It is a privilege to among this group of players. There is so much quality. I have always tried to give my best so I never worried that I would not find a way into the side. We have great competition and that is good for the team because it brings the best out of everyone. Whenever you are playing you have to be ready and whenever you are on the bench you have to believe you will come on." This would have sounded better delivered as a speech at the end of an episode of America's Got Talent Singing On Ice With The Stars when everyone has a hug and cries over the credits.

11.49am: There is a final twist in this Backley/octopus story. Doyle, striking back, established that Backley did not know that octopus blood was blue. Which he, Doyle, did know. Also, in a side issue, Backley has "never seen" the Scooby Doo Mystery Machine. So in a way it's 2-1 Doyle. Meanwhile Rhodri Burridge has this: "This is one of my wife's â€" she thought jellied eels were jelly deals. And yes, it was before I married her so it didn't quite put me off." Jellied eels. Sorry. Mild childhood trauma.

11.48am: Jerry Purcell demands: "How many javelins could an octopus throw (a) On land; and (b) Under water. These are important questions. Please phone Steve Backley for his professional viewpoint." I would suggest maybe eight.

11.39am:

11.37am: Brendan Large has some scathing words: "If Mr. Doyle had just brushed up on his Norwegian he would never have had to admit to his lack of wildlife knowledge... in Norwegian the word for Octopus (directly translated) is 'ink squirter'... so now you know." That is interesting. I was just wondering if an ant-eater was the only animal named, quite insultingly, after its most basic function. but apparently not.

11.32am: A clarification. And sorry lance 's Steve Buckley . It turns out not only does Backley know about octopus ink. He has actually been squirted with squid ink while swimming. Apologies Steve. That's the last time I eavesdrop on a javelin-related phone interview squid ink question and answer session. Still. You do wonder if Jan Zelezny also got squirted by squid ink, but just from a bit further away and a bit more convincingly.

11:30 am: Ed Brown sounds like a fun safari companion: "I am very knowledgeable about wildlife and frequently have to inform my peers when they lapse. Recently, a woman friend of mine was talking about looking forward to seeing tigers in Africa. I - tactfully - informed her that there are no tigers in Africa, unless one visits a zoo. She look crestfallen but at least she has more knowledge now. She did get to see a rhino." Phil Walsh admits: "until last week, I thought condors were mythical." And Charles Davies: "I recently had octopus ink linguine at a restaurant and it was really nice. As a word of advice though, remember that you ate it for at least 18-24 hours after doing so otherwise you'll go to the toilet and start panicking that something is wrong with you. I don't think I need to say any more." Ugh. Sorry.

11.27am: I just did a phone interview with a radio station in Toronto about the World Cup so far. They appeared to be completely uninterested in the whole thing. I blathered about Wesley Sniejder for three minutes. Then the host said: "Bernie Roarnay of the Guardian newspaper - thank you" and they cut to an add for hair restorer. It's World Cup fever out there.

11.13am:Jorg Hendrik Baja acuity: "I never understood why they 're called" tentacles "when' s only eight of them ..." And I have some news about not knowing about the octopus ink. Judging by the bell goes next to me Olympic javelin ace Steve Backley may also have been unaware of this. This is unconfirmed though.

11.10am: Here's some interesting World Cup news from the wires: "Germany midfielder Thomas Muller, Mexico forward Giovani dos Santos and Ghana midfielder Andre Ayew have made the three-man shortlist for the young player of the World Cup." Muller is favourite. Any views? Neuer the German goalie impressed me. He's 24. But he's also a goalie. Er... Wayne Rooney?

11.09am:More Wildlife shame. Alex Papakyriacou: "Due to late position in the book about animals, I had as a child, I thought the gazelle a crocodile while I was in the mid-twenties. Nevertheless, I think that the animal name of the committee received that one wrong. I mean ... "Gazelle" just sounds vicious, t does not 'is "\\"

11.06am:More embarrassing failures of Wildlife: Richie Dunfunk notes "I heard that someone had some kind of buffoon chimpanzees." It could be. This may be particularly stupid chimp. And Ivan Milatovic admits: "Embarrassing omissions Wildlife: until last year, I thought cucumbers were cucumbers, which grow in the sea. I do not know about the etching process. I 36 ..."

10.51am: Another newsflash. Paul Doyle did not know that an octopus can squirt ink. General bafflement at this. Surely this is the one thing everyone knows about the octopus/squid world. Why not send in your own most embarrassing wildlife knowledge lapses? I'll publish the best of them. A prize of a shot glass of octopus ink to the most banal.

10:49 am: Shall we just not bother playing the game then?

10.49am: Newsflash:The octopus has gone for Spain.

10.47am:
My favourite insight was when the presenter asked Sweeney what he would say if Sepp Blatter should ask him for brutally honest advice on how to improve the standards of referees, Sweeney suggested approaching the question differently and pointed out that the speed that the game is played at and the science and technology that is available to football teams and viewers has increased dramatically over the years, but the changes to referring and the resources available to referees has not. His view was either the technology should be made available to referees or denied to everyone including viewers and TV commentators. That way everyone would only be able to judge something based in real time just like "the man in the middle" and in turn there would be less criticism of a referee's decision." Well there you go. And wait... Octopus news came .

10.34am: And here's a reminder via 101greatgoals.com that at times like these, even with a World Cup final in the offing, we should remember those who aren't fortunate enough to be involved.

10.32am: Thanks to Alvaro Reynolds for this, from Cruyff in today's spanish press: "I am Dutch but I will always defend the football Spain play. If you play attacking football, like Spain do, you have more chances of winning. And if you try to play on the counter against a team that really wants the ball, you deserve to suffer. The fact is that if you try to outplay Spain, they will kill you and Holland now know they face the best team in the world. When you look at Spain, you see Barcelona, you see Xavi, Iniesta, Busquets and Pedro in midfield, players who want the ball but then will put pressure on high up the pitch to win it back. Now, deservedly, Spain are in the Final, a match that is only about winning, as I know. Spain have a great footballing generation, who may never get another chance like this."
Basically, he wants Spain. But... "attacking" football.Hmmm.

10.24am: Thanks Tom. Good morning everyone. I'm back for another day of World Cup fluffing and I feel already the excitement has ramped up a level from yesterday. Yesterday I was merely simmering. Today I'm foaming all over the kitchen floor and congealing into a mushy white pulp around the rim of the pan, a pulp that you'll vaguely soak for a couple of days but never really be able to scrape off fully. Coming up today: Octopus stuff. Parakeet stuff. More about Howard Webb, the most important man at the World Cup. Who Johann Cruyff the psychic ex-footballer is leaning towards. Some more Spain stuff (it's not boring). And all your views if you want to email me on barney.ronay@guardian.co.uk .

10.21am:Barney Ronay has arrived in the building.

10:20 am: Below the line, Dirtyboots has been running his own tipping competition:

Paul the octopus has being doing very well with his predictions for this world cup but my cat Tiberius has matched him stride for stride. Hearing about Paul before the world cup I have been challenging Tiberius to predict whether Paul will be correct or not using a similar selection method by placing meaty chunks in a rich gravy in two different bowls, one marked 'Right' the other 'Wrong'.

Tiberius has successfully predicted that Paul will be right in every prediction he has made so far. However, I have some unsettling news for Paul followers. This morning (a designated prediction day in Tiberius' diary) Tiberius, with some nonchalance, clearly and unequivocally buried his face in the 'Wrong' dish. I must say I was shocked. But then the lad's got a 100% record so one has to respect that.

He's not called Tiberius because of his prediliction for debauchery, is he Dirtyboots? I hope not.

10.13am:How wolverine is Paul anyway? If he 's ate his mussels during the day, maybe he won t fancy' make a forecast for the final. Someone must have thought it through.

10.10am: MASSIVE BREAKING NEWS Paul says Uruguay will beat Germany ... hang on, he's going for Germany now. Actually, I'm not even sure how he selects the winner. Do we need to wait for him to eat the mussel? He's eaten the German mussel! Germany will beat Uruguay and they have the tastiest mussels too. In your face, Montevideo. Right, I'm off to the bookies to put a tenner on the end of punditry. And journalism.

10.02am:Alvaro Reynolds us with a tip that Johan Cruyff - torn between loyalty to Spain and Holland - it is no longer standing. It 's gone to Spain. "I am Dutch, but I will always defend to play football Spain," said Cruyff. "This is Spain 's game to lose, but I'll take an intensive joy if they win it."

9.44am: Harry Pearson has written an excellent piece on Howard Melton Webb's ascent to the World Cup final. Here's a wee extract:

For English watchers, the Brazil verses Chile game last week was such a pivotal point. During the course of the first 45 minutes it rapidly became obvious that the emphasis of our national game was shifting before our eyes. "Good decision by Howard Webb," warbled Peter Drury with the sort of throaty majesty he normally reserves for calling out "Ronaldo!" moments before the pouty Portuguese lone parent blasts a volley 30 yards over the bar. "Oh, excellent advantage there by the man from Rotherham."

Jim Beglin was quickly in on the act, effusively praising assistant Darren Cann for "a great flag" that denied Chile a possible goal. Back in the studio Gareth Southgate, blinking crazily like somebody trying to transmit an unabridged Morse code version of Anna Karenina using his eyelids, was in total accord with his Irish colleague: "And that's a great flag from Darren Cann," he said after the incident replayed, as Andy Townsend nodded wisely and murmured something about "putting down a marker" for the final.

You can read the full article here.

9.30am: Paul Doyle has delivered today's press round-up and the Mail is not happy about Cristiano Ronaldo's fashion sense:

If you're the sort of person who goes horse-riding in your local library and tries to buy sausages in a shoe shop, then you never decide what to wear without first consulting the Daily Mail. The celebrated slicksters of that organ have worked themselves into quite a tizzy this morning after publishing photos of Cristiano Ronaldo wearing a splash of black nail varnish on each of his big toes. "Those painted toe-nails were a mistake!" fumes the rag authoritatively.

By the way, if you type psychic into Google the first suggestion is "octopus".

9.20am: I'd say 70% of people in the office are talking about Paul the Octopus at the moment. But seeing as people don't really start strolling in until 11.30am or so, that's only seven people. Anyway, below the line Raycun points out that:

The head of La Liga thinks England's problem is that English clubs don't nurture home-grown players. Over half of the Spanish team are from a club that can't afford to pay its players' wages. Is this not also a problem?

9:08 am: Big news first up: Paul the Octopus will be holding a live press conference around 10am with his predictions for the World Cup final and the third/fourth place play-off. No doubt Sky Sports News will be covering it live with pictures of an empty aquarium for half an hour before Paul's Big Call. Actually, we can't really mock because we'll be covering it live too. That it's come to this.

Good morning and welcome to the guardian.co.uk's daily live World Cup blog, wherever you are in the world ...

We hope this blog will provide news, predictions, pontifications, colour from our team in South Africa, plus lots of pointing outwards; to your comments below the line, to the best things we've seen on the web and to various World Cup randomania.

The plan is to update the blog from now until around 5pm UK time.

Let's kick off with a rather splendid video of Queen Sofia's post-match appearance in the Spain dressing room following their semi-final win. Lucky Carles Puyol had a towel on ...