Soccer

Both Panama and Tunisia have lost their opening two games so have nothing to lose as they cannot qualify for the next round of the tournament. Will this create a game that is wide open or will they both play cagey hoping to secure a point as to not finish last in the competition?

Both England and Belgium have already qualified for the knockout stages of the tournament and neither will be too worried about who they face in the Round of 16. The most likely outcome is that England or Belgium will face Japan or Senegal in the next round.

Switzerland may not have an out and out striker of any quality but they are a solid team who work extremely hard for each other. They have a sprinkling of players who are genuine quality, such as Xherdan Shaqiri who has the ability to both impress and frustrate in equal measure.

All Senegal need to do is avoid defeat to Colombia to seal their place in the tournament’s Round of 16. Should Senegal progress, it will be only the second time in their history, although this is only their second World Cup they have qualified for.

Switzerland may not have an out and out striker of any quality but they are a solid team who work extremely hard for each other. They have a sprinkling of players who are genuine quality, such as Xherdan Shaqiri who has the ability to both impress and frustrate in equal measure.

Serbia endured heartache when they fell to a last minute goal by Xherdan Shaqiri to lose 2-1 to Switzerland. Had they managed to hold on to draw, Serbia would be level on points with Brazil and would only need a point to progress from the group.

Mexico have impressed in their opening two fixtures, first beating Germany 1-0 and then beating Korea Republic 2-1. The six points Mexico have see them sit at the top of Group F with one game to go and a point against Sweden will see them progress to the knockout stages.

This should be an intriguing fixture because both teams can still qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Round of 16. Korea Republic have to win and hope that Sweden lose to group leaders Mexico, while Germany have to match Sweden’s result if they want to avoid being eliminated at the group stage for the first time in their history.

Iceland’s players and manager have said their team has nothing to lose going into their third and final Group D match against Croatia. There is everything to lose, however, because they must beat Croatia and hope Nigeria slip up against Argentina to keep their World Cup hopes alive.