Ireland didn't qualify for the World Cup – boohoo – but we could still be winners from it. Or so says Dr Don Thornhill, chairman of the National Competitiveness Council.

"I was delighted to see Germany win the World Cup and not just because they played well," he told us at the publication of the council's annual scorecard of Ireland's competitiveness.

“I would expect that it will lead to a significant uplift in German sentiment and that can only in turn lead to an uplift in consumer spending there, which is good for [Irish exports].”

Sehr gut. Ireland's main goal, however, is to get the Germans to give us a debt write-down in return for keeping their currency afloat. That one appears to have gone into extra time.