World Cup preview: South Korea v Germany, Mexico v Sweden, Serbia v Brazil, Switzerland v Costa Rica
Wednesday brings another bushel of World Cup action with two of the favourites Brazil and Germany hoping to find some form on the turf and aiming to secure their qualification to the round of 16.
- 1500 BST South Korea v Germany (BBC) (Group F)
- 1500 BST Mexico v Sweden (BBC) (Group F)
- 1900 BST Serbia v Brazil (ITV) (Group E)
- 1900 BST Switzerland v Costa Rica (ITV4) (Group E)
Germany have had a tough tournament so far but secured their first win of the competition against Sweden courtesy of Toni Kroos’ last minute wonder-goal.
Die Mannschaft should manage to beat a South Korean team who have offered very little going forward and who will be without captain Ki Sung-yueng due to injury.
To qualify, Jaochim Low’s team must avoid losing to the East Asian side and must match or better Sweden’s result against Mexico, while South Korea must beat Germany and hope that Sweden lose against Mexico.
The Scandinavians’ chances of beating Mexico are improved by the fact that Juan Carlos Osorio, who is renowned for rotating his squads, will likely make a number of changes to his starting 11.
Even so, the Swedes may have been rattled by Germany’s dramatic last-minute victory against them and will need to stand together after midfielder Jimmy Durmaz, who gave away the free kick that his side conceded from, was subjected to death threats online.
Brazil conclude their group stage campaign against Serbia, who have the chance to qualify for the knockout stages for the first time as an independent nation.
Both teams will likely need a win in order to top the group as Switzerland, who sit in second place in the group on four points, will likely beat Costa Rica who have already been knocked out.
The Serbians come into the match off the back of receiving a £41,250 fine for the behaviour of their fans in the side’s loss to Switzerland, where banners and chants were aimed at Swiss players of Albanian-Kosovan heritage such as goal-scorers Granit Xhaka and Xherdan Shaqiri. Xhaka and Shaqiri were fined 10,000 Swiss francs (£7,632) for making the sign of the 'double eagle' with their hands in reference to the Albanian flag, but escaped match bans.
Brazil have seemed tentative so far in the competition, especially considering their frightening pre-tournament form and their big names on display. The side failed to beat Switzerland in their opening fixture and left it late to beat Costa Rica and will look to put in a more assured performance for their final group game.
Switzerland are in a strong position in the group and could finish top if they secure a victory against Costa Rica.
The Central American side were a surprise package four years ago in Brazil, winning a group containing England, Italy and Uruguay, but have failed to pick up a point so far in this year’s competition as their aging squad has looked off the pace.