Some of this youthful optimism could be due to the greatest World Cup programme ever made, which was on BBC Three the other night. It was called World Cup Goals Galore. It lasted for 90 minutes. It did exactly what it said on the tin. The voiceover was provided by Sean Lock, a bespectacled gentleman who you may be aware of if you watch the likes of QI and Room 101 on BBC. Lock is a very smart and funny man, and as such, provided some very smart and funny commentary.

The 240 goals (yes! ! ) were broken down into categories, with a top 10 of the best ever interspersed throughout to the tune of a non-stop excellent soundtrack. Now that is a World Cup preview show, enough to have you writhing with anticipation of what might happen over the next four weeks. It would be an affront to Britain's fine tradition of public service broadcasting for this programme not to appear on a terrestrial channel in the coming weeks. Watch out, it's called World Cup Goals Galore. You can't miss it.

So luckily we didn't have to depend on RTE's preview show on Thursday night to get the blood pumping. Because it didn't. First off, Johnny Giles is an excellent co-commentator, with few better able to read a game, but as he appeared in his shirt sleeves in Munich alongside George Hamilton, trying valiantly not to look into the camera as he was clearly being asked to, you wished they'd kept him in the studio.

Brady and Dunphy seemed barely interested in each other's company, while Giles's appearance sparked the only entertaining banter of the hour.

The 'Bring Gilesy Home' campaign starts here.

Having said that, the signs were far more encouraging on opening day, as Graeme Souness took his bow. What it certainly proved is that Dunphy is an insatiable show-off. Unable to rouse himself for the benefit of Bill and Brady the previous evening, he seemed to find new impetus with Souness's arrival. Within two minutes he was badmouthing the BBC, recalling Steven Gerrard's blatant dive against Hungary and its justification by Ian Wright and co. "No one dissented, " he lamented, as Souness looked on admiringly.

Brief highlights of what was apparently a brief opening ceremony followed, featuring a distinct lack of roller bladers with their heads on fire.

Instead, we had a parade of surviving members of every World Cup winning side, which provoked Dunphy to some righteous anger.

"That's history. That was extremely moving. It's great players that make us love the game and when you see some of this rubbish getting 100 grand a week. . ." Hooray!

Souness, for his part, was relaxed and opinionated, and can only become more so as he watches his fellow panellists in fascination. "Tell 'em what you really think, " he chuckled to Dunphy after Jurgen Kilinsmann had been dismissed as a "virtual manager". The Scot could be a big signing for RTE once he gets match fit.

Over on BBC, the build-up had been even more underwhelming, with their promo (so often an event in itself) provoking nothing but yawns. But they started brightly on Friday evening, perched in a glass penthouse al la France '98. Alans, Hansen and Shearer, were joined by Martin O'Neill, who was pressed by Gary Lineker about his failure to land the England job. The normally unflappable O'Neill spluttered slightly, before telling us what we all knew, the FA "went the English route". England's loss is BBC's gain, who would you rather have analysis from?

Adrian Chiles then provided some brief and irreverent group previews that were actually funny, which bodes well for highlights shows to come. Solid start, hopefully they'll only use Ian Wright for the England games. Only mad dogs and Englishmen will be watching those on the BBC.

Over to ITV for Poland v Ecuador, which began with an utterly unmemorable intro accompanied by the brutal slaying of David Bowie's 'Heroes' (by bafflingly semi-popular beat combo Kasabian). In studio, the still-too-stilted Ruud Gullit was joined by Sam Allardyce (who twice used a variation of 'never write off the Germans' in the opening minute) and their only potential star, Stuart Pearce.

In the commentary box, the normally tolerable Clive Tyldesly appears to have let a sports commentator of the year award go to his head and might be trying to get a bit too smart. Call us old fashioned, but describing a header as coming off someone's "bonce" isn't acceptable behaviour.

So with just a couple of days gone, what have we learned? That RTE retains favouritism, that BBC is the only credible alternative, and that logically speaking, you should always write on the Germans. Keep those pens handy.