Russia 2018: Group E and F Permutations
By: Akpesiri Akatugba
The drama continued yesterday at the FIFA World Cup in Russia, in what is arguably the most exciting World Cup group stage in history. We expect today’s fixtures to keep up with the script as Groups E and F comes to a close.
The only certainty in Group E is that the Costa Ricans are out. The Samba boys will advance if they avoid defeat against the Serbians; in like manner Switzerland will book their ticket to the round of 16 if they avoid defeat to Costa Rica. The Serbians will need to beat Brazil to qualify. If that happens, the Brazilians will hope Costa Rica manufactures a surprise win over the Swiss and there wasn’t a goal disadvantage against them.
In Group F the Mexicans need one point against Sweden to guarantee top spot mathematically. The second qualifying spot is still a possibility for the other three teams. The German machines will qualify if they beat the Koreans and Sweden fails to beat Mexico by a bigger margin. The Swedes will qualify if they beat Mexico and Germany fails to beat South Korea, or if they win by a bigger margin than the Germans. The Koreans have a more difficult task, as they will have to beat Germany by 3 clear goals alongside the hope that Sweden lose.
The final group games for Groups E and F begins at 3pm and 7pm WAT respectively.
