Adidas insist they're not to blame for West Ham United goalkeeper Robert Green's England howler.

Green's rival for the number one jersey, David James, said before the tournament that he feared someone would be made to look "an idiot" by it because he claimed it was difficult to read the flight of the ball and judge the bounce.

Adidas, the producers of the ball, stood by the Jabulani today and pointed to some other impressive goalkeeping displays so far which suggest Green's error was the exception rather than the rule.

Thomas Schaikvan, head of public relations for adidas, told Press Association Sport: "We are happy with the ball's performance and we don't think it had anything to do with the goal England conceded. On the contrary, if you look at the games so far, some goalkeepers have been the stars of the tournament.

"The Nigeria goalkeeper (Vincent Enyeama) and (United States goalkeeper) Tim Howard won the man of the match award in their games, and the South Africa goalkeeper (Itumeleng Khune) was also excellent against Mexico.

"There have been some fantastic saves and the ball is allowing goalkeepers to perform at their best.

"We are five games into the tournament and we are confident and pleased at the ball's behaviour, and the players are getting more confident with it."