It may have taken 13 games, but Iran and Nigeria certainly made sure that when the first draw of Brazil 2014 came it was an absolute stinker.
Having thought that it might be a hard sell to get in on the TV at home, I was surprised to see that it was already on when I arrived home last night. By half-time, I was disappointed it had been on and was quite happy to give it up for, well, anything else that was on.
I still kept an eye on the game via Twitter, but it's safe to say I didn't miss a lot. The knock-on effect of it is that, as many expected, Group F will be the most cut and dried one by the looks of things, and Bosnia-Herzegovina could well be on course for a spot in the last 16 on their World Cup debut.
The main group of day five though, was Group G. And the first game of it was billed as a potential cracker.
What we got was a one-sided horror show for Portugal, who were thrashed, had well-known madman Pepe sent off and lost two key players to injury.
Germany are predicted to go a long way, but they will face harder tests than Portugal on that sort of form.
Thomas Muller got the ball rolling from the spot, and things were already looking bleak when Mats Hummels made it 2-0 with a thumping header.
Then enter Pepe. He's got plenty of previous, and after catching Muller with a flailing arm, he added another moment of madness to his rap sheet by leaning over the German forward and headbutting him while on the floor, leaving the referee with no choice but to flash his red card.
Muller made it three with a goal that at first looked like bad defending and terrible goalkeeper, but after seeing a couple of replays was upgraded to good forward play and terrible goalkeeping.
Portugal should have had a penalty and did technically have a goal disallowed in the second half – both incidents which will have had the poor sap who needed them to lose and score to win £25,000 feeling aggrieved – but Muller took the early lead in the race for the Golden Boot with his third.
That made the late game between Ghana and the USA a big one, with the two knowing a winner is in good shape to get into the last 16 and a probable tie against the runners-up of Group H.
And it was the US who took advantage, Clint Dempsey's brilliant individual strike putting them ahead in the very first minute.
Andre Ayew levelled late on, but John Brooks headed home to win it and put the US in pole position.
Group H finally gets underway today with Belgium, Algeria, Russia and South Korea taking their first steps on the Brazil stage. Quirkily Brazil and Mexico's second game falls in between the two, meaning the Russians and South Koreans will not have kicked a ball in anger by the time Group A could be virtually decided.
Mexico is another banana skin for the hosts, who were helped by the referee in their opener against Croatia, while the visitors will hope for better luck with the officials themselves after having two goals chalked off in their win over Cameroon. Hulk is likely to miss out for the hosts, with Ramires or Willian set to step in in Fortaleza.
