Serbia have nothing to play for but pride, but Serbia is a proud nation and manager Tim E is a proud fellow, so their hearts will be on their sleeves. Australia still have a slim chance of qualification – Chris B and his team need to win, and w[…]

Isle of Mull cheddar
A hard unpasturised cows-milk cheese, bought from Neals Yard Dairy
This is a wedge of pale yellow cheese – much paler than other cheddars, I think. It’s slightly crumbly and has a pale-white-ish grey rind.
This is ver[…]

Ghana have qualified for the next round with a very impressive 100% record, and we are all already sick of the press jokes about their manager living the high life. Andrew H’s Germany need to beat Ben Graham’s mighty Ghana team to have an[…]

You may be loving the Pop World Cup (we hope you are!). You may be thoroughly sick of it (in which case – sorry! But we’re more than halfway through now). But I hope you’d agree that the basic question it’s asking – how […]

This group’s as tight as anything. Any of the four could go through, any of the four could go out. This is not time for letting up or blooding the weaker squad members. This is a time for giving it everything and worrying the knockout rounds if[…]

Slovenia have made a lot of friends so far in this tournament but have not secured many points: they need a win to have any chance of progressing. England are developing a reputation for versatility, but that also means that the outcome of their game[…]

Both of these sides have a single point to show for their first two games, and both are staring an early exit from the competition square in the face. Either side could still qualify but to do so they will need a handsome victory and even then will […]

A draw, Gary. It’s the hardest result to play for in Association Pop – who can judge how to gain somewhere between 42 and 58% of the votes in a game? No-one, that’s who. It’s a result which would probably please both managers […]

Real Actual Crunch Time here, in the first real decider of the tournament. South Africa only need a point to be sure of qualification but France are in a mathematical nightmare. They could win and still go out, or lose and go through, depending on wh[…]

A thirsty band of FT contributors gathered this Easter weekend with one aim in mind – to sample and report upon the delights and disappointments of a collection of one of the finest traditional beverages: Imperial Russian Stout.
We decided not […]