On to match seven of the Round of Sixteen! Will it be a lucky seven for Carsmile Steve’s Honduras, making it through the groups stage with a heavy reliance on fine, fine reggaeton? Or will this match see Job de Wit’s Portugal side, much admired for the variety of dance-based styles they’ve employed so far, continue its progress? Listen, vote, find out.
This match closes at midnight on Wednesday 12th May.
HONDURAS: Sherry y Sheyla – “Muevete” The Manager Says: “Really It’s just a privilege to appear at this stage of the tournament, especially against such a strong squad as the Portuguese, but we’ve decided, not
unlike England in ’96 to bring on the SAS. Or, if we’re being pedantic the SYS (doesn’t quite work as well that one…). Sherry and Sheyla are identical twins, and are appearing on what my limited spanish and google chrome’s auto-translation widget believe to be a(n official?) Honduran World Cup song. This is not that song though (it has too many artistes on i want to use should i get further!!!), but a rather slinky drop of reggaeton, hope you all like it!”
PORTUGAL: Mariza – “Já Me Deixou” The Manager Says: “Thrilled to have reached the final 16, the Portuguese fans are keen for the squad to show off the depth of its play. Banging dubstep and kuduro have served us well in the tournament so far, and we’re not dismissing them at all, but there’s also a wealth of tradition and style we can draw on. Hearing Mariza’s phenomenal voice will transform this match into a slow-mo highlights reel, with each Portugal goal netting even more beautiful than another. We dedicate this one to Eusébio.”
Audio Player
Round of 16 Match 7: which track do you prefer? [ballot]
- HONDURAS: Sherry y Sheyla 57%
- PORTUGAL: Mariza 43%
Total Voters: 44
Poll closes: 12 May 2010 @ 23:59
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Commentary Box Analysis Honduras stick with the script, with a really good chunk of reggaeton, one which gets right up in its opponents’ grill with the world’s most provocative / annoying squeaky toy noise. Portugal, on the other hand, step away from the dance-pop which has proved popular so far, replacing it with something much more traditional, poised and gloriously saudade. It’s a daring tactic and this game – and maybe the Pop World Cup itself – benefit from it.
Result! Round of Sixteen Match 3: Germany 2 – United States 0 We all know that it’s a foolhardy pundit who writes off the Germans, but we’re not used to them being underrated by their own manager! While some feel they are still finding their ideal formation in this tournament – watch out when they do, by the way – they had enough oomph to overcome a USA team rather lackadaisical on the day. It’s been an exciting ride for the US, but despite the manager’s protestations they are actually done. “Excellent play by both sides here, and both playing to their home nations’ strengths. For me the yanks just edge it though” “I thought the USA would romp this one but no, the Germans are finally playing to their strengths. Wir Sind Helden are terrific and this is a typically exuberant performance and that clattering noise right at the end may be the sound of a whole stand getting up out of their seats.” “A nervy start from the yanks allow the germans to dominate and I think that domination isn’t going to be relinquished any time soon.” “Think the [US] rapper’s got a right to hog the ball, that being what rappers do; he’s not altogether integrated with the rest of his team, but he does a nice job prowling around their landscape, amused and pleasant.” “The Germans … play more of a team game with deft, confident play up front that slots efficiently into a solid back line and assertive horn section. Germany have lost some of the idiosyncrasy that was so endearing in the early stages and seem focused on winning here – I think they will.”
Coming up – the eighth and final match in the Round of 16, and it could be a big ‘un: Spain take on the Cote d’Ivoire.
There’s no doubting the class of the POR front player and if this were an exhibition match you’d be applauding her skills on the ball. What’s lacking is any sense of the aggression needed to put the ball in the opponents’ net. Nevertheless they offer a stubborn defence.
The HON team in contrast lack a star player but are focused purely on getting the ball up the field and banging it into the goal mouth. Their shooting may not always be on target but with this many balls heading goalwards some are bound to go in. A close match but it’s HON for me.
That squeak on the Honduras track is fantastic, just stays on the right side of annoying and keeps the track fun fun fun all the way through – but it’s no match for Mariza’s voice. It’s a brave style of play in a tournament like this but I could listen to her forever. I’ve seen her fill the Barbican with that voice without the aid of a microphone, and it’s just as good on record. Amazing.
I’ve voted against Honduras’ reggaeton formation before but it seems the tactic simply took a few games to bed in – this is its’ (and Honduras’) best outing yet, with that squeak perfectly designed to draw fouls from the opposition and win free kicks for Sherry y Sheyla.
Beg to differ on the Honduran squeak – it reminded me of that endlessly repeated noise on Jennifer Lopez’ “Get Right” which was Champions League-standard annoying. The squeak isn’t as inescapable as that, but you find yourself listening out for its return, while that clattering sound at the end isn’t percussion so much as next door banging on the walls for it to stop. The Portuguese song on the other hand is sheer class, an unanswerable hat-trick.
I made the mistake of reading the comments before listening to the tracks. Now all I hear from the Honduras’ entry is THE SQUEAKS AND NOTHING BUT THE SQUEAKS! Thankfully Mariza’s soothing vocal erases the trauma of the reggaeton whack-a-mole-fest. I think you can guess where my vote went.
Daring outing from Portugal here. Makes me all the more glad we managed to avoid them in this round.
‘thefatgit’, I know how that feels.
I was reading “annoying squeaky toy noise”, and wondered how you could use that in reggaeton. While listening, it’s all the time “hey, there is that sound again!” not paying attention to anything else anymore.
Luckily this time the choice is obvious anyway, beautiful fado from the Portugese side. Nice for a change.
I have to go with Portugal. Not that I was particularly blown away but the squeak from Honduras is just to much. I can always appreciate a bold move but my ears can simply not support this one.
Don’t think the squeak’s such a big deal, but I like it; I like the rough feel overall, a reggaeton equivalent to garage rock, with disco-pop slime from the singers. So, this ain’t a vote against Honduras but for the Portuguese, who give us beauty and rhythm and thick-voiced drama.
Genuinely not sure which way to go here, Portugal have plenty of poise and grace but little real spark, Honduras are shabbier and messier and way behind in terms of technique but seem to want it more. The squeaky voice may just tip it in Honduras’s favour for me.
Voting on this match ends at midnight tonight and there’s everything to play for (actually there may not be – I haven’t looked at the poll logs because that would be rubbish).
If you haven’t listened to this one, give it a whirl – it’s a glorious cracker of contrasting styles.
It was a tight game, but Honduras run out narrow winners, and march on to a Quarter-Final against the Netherlands. Congrats to Steve.
Well done also, but sadly cheerio, to Job and his excellent Portuguese team.
wooooooooooooooooo!!!
well done Job, hard luck!