Europop 2008: Quarter Final 2 – Poland v Portugal

Poland take on Portugal for a place in the semis. Play the tracks, vote, and look below the cut for managerial comment, track ID, analysis, results and previews. Please don’t download the tracks unless you intend to vote – thanks!

How to vote: Just tick the track you like best. You have until lunchtime MONDAY 9th JUNE to vote in this poll.

 Loading ...

POLAND: Sidney Polak – “Chorwat (ft Michael Lovrisa)”

The manager says: “We are Poland. We have given you women. You have enjoyed the women. Now we give you men. Men at a hundred miles an hour. We are Poland. Marvel at our dexterity. Quiver at our relentlessness. Genuflect towards our pun. We are Poland. Are we not magnificent?”

Our analyst says: Poland are playing an attacking game based around the vicious pace of their strikeforce, expertly fed from midfield. With the technical skills to match their speed this side are a daunting proposition.

PORTUGAL: Buraka Som Sisteme – “Sound Of Kudoro”

The manager says: “The stuff from Portugal they call ‘white kudoro’, fake, doesn’t have what the sound from Angola has. Buraka Som Sistema are kind of the exception, total crossover sound, everyone’s down with it, y’know? You should watch the video, the dancing is insane.

The first time I heard this, the MIA bits kind of grated; now they’re a revelation, a proper master of ceremonies job. It sounds like she’s endorsing everyone in sight, like she’s the most famous person here.”

Our analyst says: Portugal match Poland for pace and invention, and what they lack in technique they make up for with a harder physical edge to their play. This should be a firecracker game – Portugal are throwing bodies up the pitch and both sides are desperate to score.

MATCH REPORT: Switzerland 2 Germany 0: In a surprisingly sparsely attended game, Switzerland sealed an easy passage to the semi finals against a lacklustre German side whose dubiously German striker simply never got into the game. Germany’s methodical approach could only take them so far, and their efforts to slow down play simply made space for the tidy Swiss finishers to prosper. All in all a disappointing tournament for the Germans, while the Swiss are now only two games from national glory.

COMING NEXT: Monday’s game is between two teams fresh from their first wins of the tournament: France topped their highly competitive group and have delighted commentators with some effervescent play, while three points against a self-destructing Sweden gave Russia‘s tournament bid some much-needed momentum. The Russians never expected to get this far, and France will surely start favourites, but it’s by no means a foregone conclusion.