A day of departures at the World Cup. The Netherlands put five past Sweden and conceded one in return, though the scoreline flattered no one in the end: Sweden survive to play another match. Germany got past the Ivory Coast by the odd goal, two to one, and Ecuador and Curaçao played out a goalless draw that sent Curaçao home. The heaviest exit was Tunisia’s, beaten four-nil by Japan and out, a collapse made no less complete by the sacking of Lamouchi midway through the tournament. There is something instructive in a team that changes its captain mid-voyage and arrives nowhere all the same. The trouble was rarely the man at the helm.