Last night the masterful Andrea Pirlo once again haunted England at a major tournament, without breaking his strolling pace.

He was the heartbeat of an Italian side that recorded a passing accuracy of 93.2%, the highest passing accuracy at a World Cup since 1966.  For Pirlo's part he completed 103 of 112 passes he attempted.

He almost capped off the night with what would have been one of the great World Cup free kicks, a nonchalant strike from over 30 yards out that swerved viciously before smashing off the crossbar.

After the game, England keeper Joe Hart’s greeting of Pirlo said it all.