It’s been a remarkably strong round of sixteen, and here we are at the end of it! Alberto’s Spain and Wichita Lineman’s Cote d’Ivoire both looked very classy in the group stages and both will be entertaining realistic hopes of[…]

On to match seven of the Round of Sixteen! Will it be a lucky seven for Carsmile Steve’s Honduras, making it through the groups stage with a heavy reliance on fine, fine reggaeton? Or will this match see Job de Wit’s Portugal side, much a[…]

This is the sixth of the eight matches in the Round of Sixteen – already! Neither Weston Debevec’s Cameroon nor Steve M’s New Zealand would necessarily be high on most lists of favourites for the tournament, but it’s not hard […]

As we move into the second half of the Round of 16, we come across a game which may not have been an obvious highlight but, for PWC followers, has an intrigue all of its own. Iain F’s Netherlands team have been winning friends and matches with […]

Sometimes in the middle of a long tournament you pause for breath, you think about the time you’re spending on all these games, look at the sun shining outside, consider all the other stuff you could be doing and you think to yourself “ma[…]

Pressure. Seasoned PWC-watchers love to see the way the pressure begins to play on the managers as the tournament progresses. Most of the time, the standard of the music doesn’t suffer, but the managers suffer plenty, spending time second guess[…]

Isabel’s South Africa team stormed through Group A, only dropping points once they’d qualified, and even then to the pop might of France. Chris R steered Korea Republic, to second place in Group B despite being early favourites. It’[…]

Now the massive popglut of the final group stages is over, we return to a more sedate pace, though the pressure is by no means off the managers. Big beasts are everywhere. There are no easy games at this level, and there are no second chances. This i[…]