All eyes will be on Brazil on Wednesday evening to see if they can make it into the knockout stages of the World Cup when the final matches of Group E are played out. It is by no means a certainty that they will progress but if they avoid defeat to Serbia they will go through.
Switzerland are the other team in control of their own destiny. If they beat Costa Rica in the other match they will be safely through to the next round. They will be through whatever happens if Brazil beat Serbia. Costa Rica know their date already and this is their last game of the tournament.
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Serbia vs Brazil
It is this match which will get the majority of the focus in this group. It would be wrong to call it a straight knockout for a place in the second round as Brazil have the draw on their side but whoever wins will qualify for the last 16.
Serbia looked a very good side in this tournament for a match and a half and had they got a video refereeing decision for a penalty shout they will already be into the knockout stages but they didn’t and now they have to beat Brazil to stand any chance of progressing if they assume Switzerland will avoid defeat to Costa Rica. I’d argue they’ve looked the best team in the group though so they are not without a hope.
I guess it is the hugely lofty reputation that Brazil have and the expectations we subconsciously place on them as a result that means we have been left disappointed with the former champions so far. To be fair to them they weren’t allowed to play by Costa Rica who employed the dark arts of the sport but Brazil looked alright when they were facing Switzerland. There is pressure on them here but nothing that they are not used to.
Switzerland vs Costa Rica
Switzerland know that a draw will be enough to send them through to the knockout stages of the tournament and with Costa Rica already out of the event they will be fancied to get it but we’ve already seen a couple of sides who have been eliminated going into their final match offer their best performance which should act as a warning for the Swiss.
You have to give the Europeans credit. They haven’t really looked in either of their first two matches in the early stages but they have hung in both and ridden the storms and then come out the other side with creditable results. Xherdan Shaqiri’s strike late on against Serbia has given them control of their destiny and with their defensive solidity they will hope to maximise that here, and be expected to do so.
Costa Rica have probably been the most disappointing side in the tournament so far. There have been worse teams but those sides were expected to be worse. Costa Rica have talented players but we’ve seen nothing from them as an attacking force and in truth other than time wasting and kicking anything that moves we’ve not seen much more from them defensively. It would not take much for them to deliver their best performance thus far here.
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Betting
Both of these matches feel like they have a trappy element to them but there is one bet which I am interested in and it comes in that second game where Switzerland take on Costa Rica. Costa Rica are already out of the tournament but we’ve seen three sides who have known their fate heading into their final match produce their best performance of the competition.
It would be no surprise if Costa Rica do that because they’ve been awful so far. I don’t know whether that will equate to them winning the game but Saudi Arabia, Morocco and Peru have all scored their first goals of the tournament in their final game and at the very least Costa Rica can do that. They haven’t scored yet but they’ve missed golden chances in both games. With the pressure off I think they can find the net and the 4/5 on them to do so appeals to me.
Tips
WON – Back Costa Rica – Over 0.5 goals for a 4/10 stake at 1.80 with Coral
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