Mexico v Iran, BBC1

Has Gary changed his shirt? "It's the big one" he self-effacingly remarks, aware everyone's gone to the park or got the BBQ set out instead. Your team are Dixon, Strachan, who immediately goes off on one when a clip he hadn't been told was coming of Scotland-Iran is shown ("I've got a funny feeling that's why I'm here"), and our first sighting of Leonardo, who according to Gary "lifted the World Cup in 1974". Well, nearly. Jonathan Pearce's first comment is about the Nazi trials, just to counteract an atmosphere at home that sees Who Do You Think You Are Kidding Jurgen Klinsmann and Stan Boardman's World Cup Song both in the singles top 20. A tunnel shot reveals the referee is watching the visible hand of the floor manager doing a countdown to when the teams can emerge on his fingers, but even this televisual treat is as nothing compared to the Iranians handing over a huge framed square of carpet. What's that meant to represent? It was properly glazed and everything. Jonathan is on reliable form, as in occasional voice raising, determination to use everything on his stats sheet and fascinations with the Mexico coach's "gruff personality" and "the Maradona of Iranian football", despite being woken by a Mexican drummer at 3am, reporting "he knows some choice phrases in Anglo-Saxon". "A man's asleep there - three of them were asleep!" Much of the evening passes smoothly, except when Gary cuts to an overhead shot of the rest of the punditry team engrossed in conversation during the game that involved finger pointing on Iain Dowie's part. Plenty ale appeared to have been consumed. Fair enough.

What we've learned: Zinha will be the difference for Mexico; Iran might get the second World Cup win of their history but it'll involve a lot of luck; the big framed carpet will take some stopping in the search for this tournament's greatest image