The first round of games in Group B finished all square – draws all round. It’s a position to conjure with, as fancied outfits try to recover from the disappointments of points dropped, while outsiders find their confidence boosted by poi[…]

First-round Group G results here as Roger Bozack returns to the booth with Peter Baran and special deputy ambassador Mark Sinker to discuss all the high and lowlights. Despite a temporary hostage situation order is restored at halftime of DPRK vs Bra[…]

Tymsboro
A raw-milk goats cheese from Somerset, bought from Neals Yard Dairy
This is a little pyramid of goaty goodness, covered in a fuzzy white mould and with a layer of dark grey-green ash peeking out from underneath it. Inside the cheese is soft,[…]

Kat graciously offered to come and lend her tastebuds to science. She is not a fan of blue cheese, and I wanted to test some tasty, friendly and approachable blues on some blue-hater. We got some sqidgy creamy dolcelatte and some spicy cashel blue, a[…]

Well this is going to be a titanic struggle, if either France or Mexico lose this one they’re on the first flight to face the brickbats (and possibly bricks) of the fans back home. Tom and Alex will both be hoping it’s not their head the […]

Hello there, due to Tom’s ridiculously busy life and burgeoning media profile (you’ve all read Shiny Shiny, right?), Tim and I will be taking over putting the PWC tracks up for the next few weeks.
We start the second round of matches with[…]

With the first group games drawing to a close I’d like to highlight some of the best music we’ve discovered in the tournament so far (to draw some new listeners in, hopefully!).
So here’s a poll of all 32 of the tracks we’ve s[…]

Our Group F round-up sees Roger Bozack still Missing In Action (or Mr Inaction as his wife calls him) so iPete Baran and Steve Mannion continue their coverage in South Africa. The metal hell of Italy vs Paraguay, the sweetness of New Zealand vs Slova[…]

a piece i’ve often wanted to write has been something about the switch from dourly puritan late-50s stasis (back-to-backs you will never escape) to slippy mid-60s mobility: this — possibly deluded — urgent new sense that you could g[…]

The last of our 32 teams take the field of pop: Spain open their campaign against Switzerland. Spain’s Alberto is new to pop management at this level: his opposite number in the Swiss dugout is Greg Fanoe. Good luck to them both!
Voting for thi[…]