Escape to Victory

Europe has thirteen representatives at South Africa 2010 and a few of those teams would be delighted just to make it past the group stage. The six I’m looking at today include a few that once belonged to larger groupings. Serbia has appeared at previous World Cups as part of Serbia & Montenegro and Yugoslavia. They were quarter-finalists in 1954, 1958 and 1990 and their best showing was in 1962 when they finished fourth. They may progress again this year as they share a group with Germany, Ghana and Australia. Slovenia‘s players had previously played for Yugoslavia and the country played its first match as an independent nation in 1992. Their only previous outing at the World Cup was in 2002 when they lost all three games to Spain, Paraguay and South Africa. This year, they should overcome Algeria and their match with the United States could be decisive in a group that also contains England

Slovakia is one of two nations that formed out of the breakup of Czechoslovakia in 1992. Czechoslovakia were losing finalists in 1934 and 1962 and quarter-finalists in 1938 and 1990. It’s Slovakia’s first appearance at the World Cup finals as an independent nation and they find themselves in Italy’s group at South Africa. They should prove too strong for New Zealand and will most likely battle it out with Paraguay for a place in the next round. Switzerland did not enter the first competition, but qualified for six of the next seven. They were quarter-finalists in 1934, 1938 and as hosts in 1954. They only made it to two of the subsequent ten tournaments, but reached Round 2 on both occasions. This year, they’re the only nation in their group that doesn’t have Spanish as their native tongue. They should learn how to say “adiós”, though, as they’re likely to be making an early exit from a group that also contains Spain, Chile and outsiders Honduras

Denmark first entered the competition in 1958 and qualified for the first time in 1986. South Africa is their fourth tournament and they made it to the Round of 16 in 1986 and again in 2002. Their best performance was in 1998 when Brazil beat them 3-2 as they made it to the last eight. They’re in Holland’s group this year and it should be between the Danes and Cameroon for a place in the next round as Japan look set to struggle. Greece‘s only previous appearance at the World Cup was in 1994 when they failed to score a goal or a point as they conceded a total of ten goals to Argentina, Bulgaria and Nigeria. Their trip to South Africa could be another pointless one as they face Argentina and Nigeria again and will play South Korea for the first time

Today’s choice of music is about as promising as some of these teams’ chances of playing more than three games at this year’s competition. Repetitor are a trio from Belgrade who formed five years ago and their only album to date is entitled Sve što vidim je prvi put (2008). Zli Sin is taken from that album and features a hard-edged, indie guitar sound. Laibach is an industrial rock band from Slovenia who are named after the German name for Ljubljana. The band has been going for thirty years and their repertoire is primarily composed of their rather unusual versions of existing material. Across the Universe is one of the more accessible interpretations from their particular take on the Let it Be album that they released in 1988. As their name suggests, Bratislava’s Ska2tonics are a ska band and they’ve been going for a decade, incorporating elements of punk and reggae into their sound. The song Mafia opens their 2007 debut entitled Skatastrophe. Switzerland’s Tobias Jundt is the leader and only permanent member of Berlin-based Bonaparte. L’Etat C’est Moi appears on their recently released second proper album, My Horse Likes You, and it’s got a strong Red Hot Chili Peppers vibe to it. The Kites are a young Danish foursome with a retro sound and so far just a four-track EP that you can download for free from their website. And you can also download this free EP entitled Sudden Summer by a five-piece from Greece known as Coin. The members formed the band in 2001 while students at the University of Kavala and have released three albums to date

Zli sin – Repetitor (Serbia)

Across The Universe (Beatles cover) – Laibach (Slovenia)

Mafia – Ska2tonics (Slovakia)

L’état C’est Moi – Bonaparte (Switzerland)

Play – The Kites (Denmark)

Sudden Summer – Coin (Greece)

Previously on World Cup 2010:

The Beautiful Game

Africa Unite

Top of the World

Give Him a Ball (& a Yard of Grass)