It’s NOT the World Cup of (largely) classical music. This is the playlist of all the games in Group E:

Each team in each game of round one of the football represented by a short piece of music from the country, matched together like they were the games and then listeners voted… results at the bottom…

  1. SPAIN – Enrique Granados, Spanish Dance no.5 – Andaluza
    COSTA RICA – Julio Fonseca: Rayo de sol
  2. GERMANY – Brahms, Hungarian Dance No.1
    JAPAN – Takemitsu, Music of training and rest from Jose Torres

Game 2

  1. JAPAN – Ryuichi Sakamoto: Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence
    COSTA RICA – Dolores Castegnaro: Vals lento
  2. SPAIN – Manuel De Falla: Ritual Fire Dance from L’Amor Brujo
    GERMANY – Robert Schumann, Symphony No.3 “Rhenish”, movement 5

There’s more on the Schumann piece on the Cacophony podcast here: https://www.cacophonyonline.com/2020/05/01/lockdown-music-17-joy-by-the-river-robert-schumanns-3rd-symphony/

Game 3

  1. JAPAN – Keiko Abe: Prism for marimba
    SPAIN – Matilde Salvador: Homenatge a Mistral, mvt1
  2. COSTA RICA – Benjamín Gutiérrez: Pavana
    GERMANY – Clara Schumann: Piano Trio, mvt.2

RESULTS:

  1. Morocco drew with Croatia
  2. Belgium bt Canada
  3. Belgium drew with Morocco
  4. Canada bt Croatia
  5. Croatia bt Belgium
  6. Morocco bt Canada
    (3 points for a win, 1 for a draw)

MOROCCO win the group and CROATIA take 2nd place because they beat Belgium in their match. They go through to Round 2.