Tony Becca, Contributing Editor

THE WORLD Cup of football continues today with Brazil, the favourites up to last Friday, taking on Australia in the feature encounter.

Five-time winners of the tournament, Brazil, the defending champions, were not only the favourites, the hot favourites at that, to win the Cup going into the start of the contest and up to the end of the first round. With players like Ronaldinho, Ronaldo and Kaka, plus Robinho and Ze Roberto, they were the red-hot favourites - so hot in fact that to many, everything leading up to coronation day on July 9 was a mere formality.

Well, Brazil are no longer the favourites much more the red hot favourites. As great as they may be, as dazzling as they may be or can be, they are now only one of the favourites. Right there with them are their great rivals - two-time champions Argentina who have upped the ante on their chances of winning the Cup.

SITTING ALONE

And the fact that they are now not sitting alone on the pedestal of favourites has nothing to do with their average performance while ticking off a 1-0 victory over Croatia in their only appearance so far. It has to do with a brilliant, breath-taking and unforgettable performance by Argentina on Friday.

After an impressive performance during which they tagged the game Ivory Coast 2-1 in their first match, Argentina turned up in Gelsenkirchen and produced a performance that stunned the world, or rather some of the world - a display that left Ilija Petkovic, coach of the embarrassed Serbia and Montenegro, uttering afterwards: "I can only say congratulations to them. New generations will speak about this result."

In the best performance of the tournament to date, Argentina, led by playmaker Juan Roman Riquelme, Javier Saviola and Hernan Crespo, danced to a 6-0 victory that included top-class skills, beautiful passing, and three superb goals - the first at 1-0 by Maxi Rodriquez, the second at 2-0 by substitute Esteban Cambiasso and the third at 5-0 by substitute Carlos Tevez.

The first came after four passes to captain Juan Pablo Sorin, a backheel to Saviola running on in the inside left position, and a square ball from Saviola inside to Rodriquez.

The third was the result of a good move and a good finish by Tevez who beat two defenders before slotting home.

The goal of the match, however, probably the mother of all goals in all matches throughout the history of the game, was goal number two.

Starting from the left-back position and with eight players involved, Argentina passed the ball 22 times from wing to wing before the ball ended up once again with Saviola, who then passed it on to Crespo, who, after stepping over it, back-heeled it to Cambiasso who drove it one-time into the roof of the net.

It was a goal, and later on a performance that will be talked about for generations to come - a goal and a performance that has lifted Argentina into at least the co-favourites position, a goal and a performance that have left everyone who love the beautiful game looking forward to Brazil versus Argentina, a goal and a performance that would, to a number of fans, make Argentina the favourites in such a match-up.

So far the World Cup has been great - and it has been great not only because of Argentina's performance against Serbia and Montenegro, not only because of Spain's drubbing of Ukraine, and not only because of the spirited performance of Trinidad and Tobago who held Sweden to a 0-0 draw and who battled with England for 84 minutes before conceding a goal, but also because of some magical moments and some memorable goals.

Time will hardly ever dim the memory of Shaka Hislop in goal for Trinidad and Tobago - and apart from those by Argentina, of the goals by Thorsten Frings of Germany, Arjen Robben of the Netherlands, Kaka of Brazil, Xabi Alonso of Spain, Fernando Torres of Spain, Steven Gerrard of the disappointing England, Robin van Persie of the Netherlands, Bakary Kone of the Ivory Coast, and yesterday's gem by Deco - the Brazilian-born who plays for Portugal.