PWC14: Group B Finale (Australia, Netherlands, Spain, Chile)

Welcome to the Group B finale. Let’s see how things stand.

Actually, this is a game where I wish I’d picked a less permutation-filled scoring system. Summary: everything to play for.

AUSTRALIA (Matt) have 4 points. A win or second-place means they’re home and dry.

NETHERLANDS (Job) have 3 points but a big %-of-votes lead over anyone else in the group, so in any kind of tie they will go through. A win or second-place will be fine for them too.

SPAIN (Carsmile Steve) also have 3 points. They will go through on a win, and should have a decent chance if second.

CHILE (lartsaegis) have 2 points and the simplest job: they have to go for the win. There is a potential combination which sees them go out even with a win, of course (and another where they go through with a 2nd place).

THAT’S ENOUGH PERMUTATING. Click to get to the songs, the poll, and the Group H results!

AUSTRALIA: Roku Music – “Reflector”

“Once more into the world of shoegaze – something the Aussies seem determined to dominate. Roku Music (http://rokumusic.com/) are from Brisbane (and seem to include Matt Berry amongst their members). As if to tackle the shoegaze-peer-comparison problem head on, they covered MBV and Slowdive on their debut EP – good work!”

NETHERLANDS: Rimer London ft Cata.Pirata – “Love Dagger”

“A slight change of tactics in the Dutch squad in the face of this last, crucial match of the group stage. “Love Dagger” might just do the trick here, charming its way into the next round. Producer Rimer London lays the foundation for a simple yet effective playing style, setting up singer Cata.Pirata to dash between the opponents’ defense.”

SPAIN: Alizzz – “Whoa”

“It’s CRUNCH time. not entirely sure my lads can handle the CRUNCH, there’s really not much strength in depth round here. Anyway, I like this track, takes a little while to get going, but then bounces and glides all over the pitch a little 70s here, 80s there, propulsive 00s beat almost everywhere. Don’t know very much about Alizzz, they appear to be Catalan and this track seems to be from last summer, but that’s about it… Hopefully it’ll be enough to push us into the last 16.”

CHILE: Astro – “Coco”

“Villalobos, Aguayo and I left Brazil in the team jet towards Chile — just us — the rest of the drafted team and reserves were left to enjoy the amenities that Brazil has to offer. Us three, we made a conscious decision to play Robert Hood’s Minimal Nation non-stop for the entire flight. Aguayo and Villalobos delivered us from aircraft cabin fever by remixing tracks on the fly as they saw fit after the third playthrough. All I could think of was how fitting it was: play minimal music, get minimal results, even with the country’s biggest international stars, grizzled veterans. We never spoke to each other. But I could detect the trace of a smile on all our faces, half out of anxiety for the future, half out of humor of the situation at hand: being the underdogs. All this talk about a group of death in G, and feeling so close to it in our own. Whole in hope was our answer to the question we shared in mind: Certainly, there’s more to Chile than this. And as we were touching down on a makeshift landing strip aside a dry lake near the Licancabur volcano, I saw Astro — rising stars in their own right — fielding one brilliant bloodrush of a tripped out rock cut along the the skin of a clearing. Just relieved of touring, they all wore kilts adorned with tessellated shapes, playing against a team of guanaco. For us three, it seemed that they were just what we needed. “Te queremos,” I said, as we threw them jerseys. Whatever happens, I extend the same gratitude to you.”

THE POLL:

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RESULTS: Katherine St Asaph’s Algeria side bounce back to shock highly fancied South Korea and nick the 3 points in Group H. The Koreans take home 2 points – they are almost mathematically safe. As for Belgium and Russia, half a point each will satisfy neither team. Both teams can still qualify, but have an almighty scrap on their hands in the final group stage game. Standings: South Korea – 5. Algeria – 3. Belgium – 2.5. Russia – 1.5.