Soccer

What should have been a highly entertaining game could turn out to be a damp squib because Denmark only need a point to be certain of qualifying for the next round and France are already safely through.

The Fisht Stadium witnessed plenty of drama last weekend when germany came from behind to beat Sweden 2-1 in injury time. Australia will be hoping to be on the right side of their own dramatics when they take on Peru in a game they simply have to win.

The Spanish have all but qualified for the Round of 16 and have their destiny in their own hands. A win would definitely seal Spain’s passage to the last 16, but a draw could also be enough if Iran fail to beat Portugal in the other Group B game.

The Iranians have shown they can defend well against some of the best forwards in the world and they will come up against another one of those in the shape of Cristiano Ronaldo. A lack of goals may turn out to be a problem for Iran, although Portugal have only managed to keep one clean sheet in their last six World Cup games so they do give away plenty of chances.

Both of these teams are flying home after this game regardless of the result and both will be bitterly disappointed to have not performed anywhere near how they know they can. Saudi Arabia have been awful, particularly in their opening game against Russia when they lost 5-0. The Saudi’s were marginally better against Uruguay but still fell to another defeat.

Both Uruguay and Russia have guaranteed their place in the Round of 16 so you would be forgiven for thinking this game has nothing riding on it. Yet this game could have a huge impact on the rest of the teams’ tournament because whoever wins the group will likely face Portugal in the next round, if results go to plan.

Poland were disappointing in their opening game against Senegal and will need to vastly improve if they are to be in with a chance of beating Colombia. A draw against the South Americans may not be enough to save them if Japan manage to beat Senegal in their match.

They may have got all three points against Colombia but Japan faced 10 men instead of 11 for almost all of the game thanks to Carlos Sanchez being sent off in the third minute. Senegal will be a different beast to Colombia and genuinely look like a team who could progress far in this tournament.

The Three Lions looked impressive in the early stages of their 2-1 victory over Tunisia and could easily have been three or four goals to the good by half time. England faltered somewhat in the second half, mostly because Tunisia were happy to put 10 players behind the ball and defend deep.