The World cup is here (really? because there hasn’t been any coverage...) and while thousands of football fans have raided the piggy bank and headed off to Rio, the vast majority of us will be watching the carnival from our couch.

It doesn’t have to be that way!

Wandsworth is a multicultural melting pot boasting residents from across the globe, bringing the party to a pub or bar near you.

We at the Wandsworth Guardian have picked out just a tiny fraction of the places you can go and take in the atmosphere.

Australia

They may be our bitter sporting rivals in everything from rugby and cricket to squash and lawn bowls but when it comes to football the lack of a single competitive fixture between the nations means it's OK to don the green and gold and support Australia.

The Clapham Grand is a well-known hang out for Wandsworth’s huge antipodean population and the owners plan to show special ticketed parties, at £6 a head, for the Socceroos’ matches, as well as every other match in the competition.

Boasting to own the biggest screens in London, and organised to take bookings so you are guaranteed a top seat, this is the luxury option.

The Aussies have a tough job ahead of them with 2010’s finalists Spain and Holland and the under-rated Chile alongside them in Group B, but if they received the beating pundits predict, hey, you’ll be right on hand to console an attractive southern hemisphere lad/lass.

The Clapham Grand, St John’s Hill, Battersea, SW11 1TT, book your place worldcupinlondon.com

Brazil

The country is synonymous with football and with knowing how to party, so put the two things together and you can be sure to have a good time.

Typically open only on Fridays and Saturdays, nightclub Coco Bananas will be opening for every Brazil and England game, and claims to be able to recreate the Mardi Gras madness the South Americans do so well.

£5 will get you entry while a further £20 will provide you with a full Brazilian street food buffet, complete with unlimited punch before kick off.

Coco Bananas, Howie Street, Battersea, SW11 3BA

France

If you thought we had enmity with the Aussies, our beef with our neighbours across the Channel goes back more than 1000 years, but in the spirit of forgive and forget, should you wish to pick up a tricolour, you’ll be in good company.

At The Gazette, manager Walter Lecocq is calling for an entente cordial and inviting guests to come and watch Les Bleus in action.

With venues in Balham, Battersea, Putney, wherever you are in the borough there is the chance to reach out to our French cousins.

Gazette Balham, Balham High Road, SW12 9AA

Gazette Battersea, Sherwood Court, Chatfield Road, SW11 3UY

Gazette Putney, Upper Richmond Road, SW15 2JX

 

England

The spirit of love and support for your fellow nation is all well and good but at the end of the day it’s the fate of Roy’s Boys we’ll be hanging on.

Every pub and bar worth its salt will be showing the games to crowds of hopeful fans, but while the atmosphere of a packed pub is one to be savoured, it is always nice when it doesn’t take a whole half to get served and you can actually see the screen.

The Exhibit in Balham offers three large projector screens in the bar and will be showing the England games as well as the majority of the other fixtures.

What makes this different from the others I hear you cry! (well probably not, but humour me).

Well the exhibit’s secret weapon is its 28-seater cinema, available to hire for £150 for the two hours required for the match.

Manager Greg Swaby unfortunately informs me the venue has been snapped up for the England group games, but is available for those with a second team, or alternatively, is begging to be snatched up with the might three lions march into the knockout stages.

The Exhibit, Station Road, Balham, SW12 9SG