Group G’s second game sees Brazil take on North Korea. Brazil are the most successful side ever in the football World Cup – in pop competition they are more of a sleeping giant, and it’s down to Chris Ambrose to revive their fortunes. As for North Korea, it’s been more than 40 years since anyone in the West has even seen them play: Mark Sinker is the spokesperson for their management team.

Despite formal protests from the DPRK’s representatives we will still be using the concept of “voting” to decide the outcome of this match. You have until midnight on the 8th March.

BRAZIL: Los Hermanos – “Quem Sabe” The manager says – “The famously tight-lipped Chris Ambrose is going to let his game do the talking in this first match.”

NORTH KOREA: Wangjaesan Light Music Band – “Singosan Taryeong” The manager says – “Victorious Greetings from the Hermit Kingdom! Prepare dismally to grasp all you know is wrong, by the medium of HOT YOUNG DPRK WOMEN PERFORMING LEGGY PEOPLE’S ROCK WITH KEYTARS AND EVERYTHING. The Wangjaesan Light Music Band soar above your puny imperialiist tweetings. “Singosan taryeong” is a puissant polyform ballad in which peasant and proletariat, united, surge across the ploughed fields to defeat the emaciated lion of individualistic delusion. Let the barbarian “jazz” of the pitiful outer layers roar and whine in feeble acknowledgment: ALL SHALL WORSHIP US AND DESPAIR.”

Group G Match 2: Which track did you prefer? [ballot]

  • North Korea: Wangjaesan Light Music Band 77%
  • Brazil: Los Hermanos 23%

Total Voters: 62

Poll closes: 8 Mar 2010 @ 23:55

Loading ... Loading ...

COMMENTARY BOX ANALYSIS: “A physical ska-rock formation isn’t what neutrals necessarily expect from Brazil, and it’ll be interesting to see how well these direct tactics work against a Korean side with a lot more individual flair than I think many anticipated.”

RESULT! Cameroon 1 Japan 1: Cameroon had by far the better of the first half but faded badly in the face of a Japanese fightback and can consider themselves very lucky to have escaped with a point. “Cameroon is OK, a bit “incidental music on a visit-our-beautiful-country advert with added miaowing”, but OK.” “The Japanese are left panting, but their breathlessness energizes them, somehow, are far more resilient than you’d expect from a band whose manager labels them “indiepop.” The motion is one-track in comparison to Cameroon’s, but has a similar beauty, and if the track takes them to the goal, what’s the complaint? I hear a much closer match than the other commenters do.” “After reading the comments I was expecting a poor entry from Japan, but this really is great stuff. Cameroon have novelty value, but not enough to win it here.”

Coming Up! The tournament’s final group brings us Honduras against Chile on Thursday, while on Friday Spain and Switzerland are the last of our 32 countries to play their opening games.