FIFA World Cup 6/17 Recap

Sunday brought three more exciting and surprising matches in the World Cup group round. Here’s what all went down.

Serbia 1, Costa Rica 0

• Goals
  • Serbia: Kolarov (56′)
  • Costa Rica: N/A
• Cards
  • Serbia: Ivanovic (Yellow, 59′), Prijovic (Yellow, 90+8′)
  • Costa Rica: Calvo (Yellow, 22′), Guzmán (Yellow, 56′)

A free kick from Kolarov, curled around a defensive wall, was enough to lift this veteran Serbian squad over a much younger and faster Costa Rican team. This game was about as even as it gets, with possession split exactly 50-50, and with each team getting 10 shots, three of which were on goal. Unfortunately for Costa Rica, with Switzerland and Brazil left to play, they may already be in too deep of a hole to advance to the bracket.

Mexico 1, Germany 0

• Goals
  • Mexico: Lozano (35′)
  • Germany: N/A
• Cards
  • Mexico: Moreno (Yellow, 40′), Herrera (Yellow, 90′)
  • Germany: Müller (Yellow, 83′), Hummels (Yellow, 84′)

In one of the biggest upsets of the tournament so far, Mexico blanked Germany in an extremely exciting game. On paper, Germany outperformed Mexico, outshooting them 25-12, and maintaining 61% of the possession, but Ochoa’s performance in goal for Mexico, finishing with nine saves, proved to be the difference. It was a huge blow for the defending World Cup Champions, and a huge win for a Mexican team that hadn’t beaten Germany outright in decades.

Brazil 1, Switzerland 1

• Goals
  • Brazil: Coutinho (20′)
  • Switzerland: Zuber (50′)
• Cards
  • Brazil: Casemiro (Yellow, 47′)
  • Switzerland: Lichtsteiner (Yellow, 31′), Schär (Yellow, 65′), Behrami (Yellow, 68′)

The exciting day ended with yet another surprising result. Brazil absolutely owned the first part of the first half, but Switzerland began to find their footing and gain some momentum throughout, culminating in a match-tying goal by Steven Zuber early in the second half. This was another game where on paper, Brazil was the better team, outshooting Switzerland 20-6, and maintaining 54% of the possession, but the Swiss held on. Also of note was the amount that Brazil’s star player Neymar was fouled. He drew 10 fouls, which is the most by a player in approximately two decades. Both of these teams are likely to advance to the bracket, and we can only hope to be so lucky to get a rematch of this one.

Updated Standings from These Groups

Group E

1. Serbia – 3 points (GD: +1)
2. Brazil – 1 point (GD: 0)
3. Switzerland – 1 point (GD: 0)
4. Costa Rica – 0 points (GD: -1)

Group F

1. Mexico – 3 points (GD: +1)
2. Sweden* – 0 points (GD: 0)
3. South Korea* – 0 points (GD: 0)
4. Germany – 0 points (GD: -1)

*Sweden and South Korea have yet to play an opening match.

Upcoming Matches on 6/18

Sweden vs. South Korea (8:00am Eastern)

Belgium vs. Panama (11:00am Eastern)

Tunisia vs. England (2:00pm Eastern)

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