Our completely unofficial daily guide to the World Cup
BRAZIL LEADS WC SARNIE RACE: Shoppers visiting the sarnie counter in M&S can fuel their favourite fixation with a range of World Cup sandwiches named after the teams taking part. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the top seller is the Brazil Samba Chicken Salsa Wrap, with England and Mexico coming in second and third respectively. The retailer was not forthcoming on what might happen if England exit at the early stages, but safe to say if you can't find an All-Day Breakfast Wrap or a Rare Roast Beef & Horseradish sandwich, you know what's happened.

GEORDIES FLY ENGLAND FLAG: According to numbers from Woolies, Newcastle is the town where people are most likely to buy a flag boasting a red cross on a white background. The retailer's branch in that city has been the most successful in shifting anything from the ubiquitous St George car flag to an England inflatable hand or maybe an England air freshener (what on earth does this smell of?). No, you really couldn't make it up.

TRINIDAD & TOBAGO SOARS: Trinidad & Tobago World Cup shirts are flying out the door twice as quickly as those boasting Brazilian, French, German or Argentinian colours at online sports retailer Kitbag. Could disaffected Caledonian footie fans be responsible for the rush?

GERMANY SET TO WIN: The research arm of Jones Lang LaSalle sends us a note detailing the spin-off benefits of being a World Cup host. Apparently, the German cities that stand to gain most in terms of GDP growth from the competition are those well-known and cosmopolitan centres Gelsenkirchen and Kaiserslautern. More recongisably, Leipzig will also get a shot in the arm - although it's hard to understand why.

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