The ball also has its fans, like England's David Beckham, but so far they seem to have been outnumbered by critics.

English club Leicester City hopes to tempt the Los Angeles Galaxy to release David Beckham for an unexpected loan deal with an offer worth around $2 million, Yahoo! Sports has learned.

David Beckham's free-kick saw off Ecuador in round two, but Rooney's red card in the 0-0 quarter-final draw against Portugal preceded a 3-1 shoot-out defeat.