World Cup websites of the week: Where to 'watch' the match

NEWS In the second instalment of our World Cup websites of the week we bring you a review of three different sites for keeping up with the game. The BBC:
The BBC website offers minute-by-minute match reports, enabling office bound fans to keep up with the events in Japan and Korea. Or at least, that's the idea. It seems the BBC may have become a victim of its own success. Returning from the long bank holiday weekend the site appeared to have fallen at the first hurdle, seeming to freeze at half time in the Portugal v USA game once word got around an upset was on the cards. Access proved almost impossible, and even if you got on, refreshing the page seemed to be the biggest stumbling block. During other matches (France v Uruguay) the access was at best creaky and occasional or at its worst (Ireland v Germany) plain impossible. Even Cameroon v Saudi Arabia seemed to have the service in all kinds of trouble - we can only imagine what fans relying on the site for the England v Argentina game will be experiencing. When it is working, the service is sound in a no frills, little imagination, kind of way - but if you can get on you shouldn't be disappointed. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport Sky.com
Frustrated by the BBC's faltering service, we moved over to Sky. The satellite broadcaster doesn't have rights to show live matches, but that hasn't stopped it offering its own minute-by-minute match report service. And it's a good 'un. Everything the BBC offers is here, plus all manner of added extras. The window which contains the text commentary also has a menu bar giving you access to team formations, statistics such as bookings, corners, fouls and offsides and a breakdown of substitutions, tactical changes and even a timeline charting the ebbing and flowing of the game. In truth, much of it is probably a little unnecessary but for the real stattos out there it's a marvel. The text commentary is also a bit more fun - after all, the BBC's rather tired reporting is not in keeping with the spirit of the occasion. However, that's the good stuff. The downside of this is that it too appears to be crippled by the levels of traffic for large sections of a game. It's not ideal if you just want to dip in every 20 minutes or so to check the score. But don't take our word for it, try it yourself: http://www.sky.com/sports The Guardian:
http://www.FootballUnlimited.co.uk has long been a favourite of the web-wise football fan. Since it started offering subscribers its 'Fiver' daily newsletter it has carved out its own place among the glut of coverage available. To say there are no frills is an understatement. You get the feeling this is a man, sat in front of his armchair with a keyboard on his lap typing pretty much straight onto the screen, but it's all good stuff. The availability is excellent (though if enough of you click, between us we could probably take it down) and if you just want to dip in and out to check the score and read some informed opinion as the match progresses, then this is the place to go.