Part of the excitement for me of the coming of the next World Cup is to watch the 3 Tenors (Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo and Jose Careras) serenade the world again with the best-loved Arias in the Finals. Sadly, that will not happen this time. It seemed true that Yokohama Arena was indeed their last trio World Cup performance.

I would have been thrilled if the Italian cross-over tenor Andrea Bocelli replaces Luciano Pavarotti (who retired on his 70th birthday) to continue the tradition.