Our third quarter-final – and the last two European teams left in the competition. Croatia (managed by intothefireuk) are a team with momentum on their side, sneaking through Group A at the last second and then seeing off the Netherlands in the second round. England (managed by Ronald) find themselves at the treacherous Quarter-Final stage after a solid win over Cote D’Ivoire. The winner here faces either Iran or South Korea in the semis.
QF3: Croatia v England - which do you pick? [ballot]
- ENGLAND: Years & Years 74%
- CROATIA: Pips Chips And Videoclips 26%
Total Voters: 65
Poll closes: 28 May 2014 @ 15:00
Loading ...This match runs until Wednesday – songs below the cut, and a farewell to the loser of our first quarter-final…
CROATIA: Pips Chips And Videoclips – “Trubac”
“So here we are up against England of all teams. Time to bring out an alternative formation and drive forward. No sitting back this time round as the team adopt a straight forward piece of indie rock with a great stomping beat. Incidentally, although chosen entirely independently of previous tracks, the guest vocalist does look rather familiar. Having made it this far we are determined to try and push through into the next round but I suspect this will be a hard fought match.”
ENGLAND: Years & Years – “Real”
“I’ve been playing this track quite a bit over the past few months. It’s one of my fave English songs released so far this year. It’s brooding and a bit dark but still has a groove to it. Very addictive. Years & Years is probably the newest member of this squad, a squad full of young up & coming players. Apparently, this is the furthest England’s ever made it in the Pop World Cup. Hopefully this round ends with England getting a heart card (watch the video and you’ll get it).”
SO FAREWELL THEN…..: Japan! In a very close-fought match, Japan couldn’t quite overcome a battling Chilean side, and they go out at the Quarter-Finals stage for the second time in recent PWC history. Manager Patrick St Michel can be proud of his side’s achievements, though, consistently getting a warm reception from the crowd, even in defeat. His team got off to a fantastic start with BiS’s “StuPIG”, a contender for Goal Of The Tournament according to some. So let’s see it again…
Fuck Documentaly. I voted for Croatia.
LMFAO.
Supporting CROATIA because fuck DOCUMENTALY.
Pop football’s coming home… Which is ironic, because it’s Croatia who borrow heavily from the styles of the Britpop 1990s, with a touch of US hardmen Queens of the Stone Age thrown in.
It’s an effective, muscular performance, but they are undone by England’s (card) trickery and guile. And is that Ben Wishaw playing a blinder as a false Number 9?
On to the semis and the inevitable defeat on penalties? Maybe not this time.
^ Why yes, it is Ben Whishaw.
Years & Years pull out a masterful performance for England here. The indie tactic has had mixed fortunes in this tournament so far, and Croatia’s rockier, beefier approach look to intimidate the English, especially when a flare is ignited near the end. But England are having none of it, and quite literally lay their cards on the table, giving all they have to secure a win for the fans back home. One for the indie connoisseurs.
sometimes in a tournament a player will emerge from the ranks who will turn a match on its head with a jaw-dropping display. Unfortunately for Croatia their player is more interested in blowing their own trumpet and setting off smoke bombs to the distraction of his own team mates. England’s performance would have trumped Croatia anyway but faced with this they absolutely ace it
This is a battle of the coolest, and while Croatia are too cool for school here, England peer through it with a great pokerface. England are looking like a dark horse gaining speed.
After impressively holding off a strong Cote d’Ivoire attack in the prior round, England unsurprisingly stick to a similar tactical set-up here. This is a much scrappier but hard-fought game, and Croatia have plenty of opportunities but seem unable to ever convert their momentum into a goal. In the end England’s solid defense is the platform for them to use quick transitions to score a couple on counterattacks, getting them the win.
Thank you everyone for your support! Please anticipate England’s next match!
Congratulations England and thankyou to everyone who voted for Croatia in this and previous rounds. I think we just ran out of steam a little at the end. It’s been a joy to discover music I never even new existed. A massive thanks also to Tom for organising the tournament which has been and continues to be magnificent. Cheers ITF.