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Brazil v Costa Rica (14.00)
Riding in on a wave of expectation, with the painful end to the last Fifa World Cup™ seemingly just a footnote, Brazil did not get the all singing, all dancing start to Russia 2018 they were hoping for. Costa Rica, by contrast clinging onto the joyful memories from four years ago, similarly did not get going as they would have hoped.

Following an opening that promised much against Switzerland, Brazil’s spark fizzled as the clash in Rostov-on-Don progressed, before ultimately being pegged back by the resilient Alpine outfit. The team will have been buoyed by the news that Neymar trained on Wednesday having experienced some pain in his ankle the previous day.

There was always the chance of meeting the expectations superbly raised by Costa Rica’s run to the quarter-finals in Brazil. Serbia only edged them thanks to a sensational free-kick by Aleksandar Kolarov but they need to discover a cutting edge that was absent in their opener.

Serbia v Switzerland (20.00)
Two enticing and confident teams are set to go head-to-head in Kaliningrad on 22 June in an all-European clash. Fresh from a 1-0 win over Costa Rica in their opening game, Serbia now face a Switzerland team that held group favourites Brazil to a 1-1 draw.

Should they beat Die Nati, The Eagles will soar into the Round of 16 of the Fifa World Cup™ for the first time since they started competing as an independent nation. Knowing what is at stake, and fully aware that they have lost only twice in 13 matches against the Swiss, the Serbians will certainly not be lacking for motivation.

However, they are coming up against resolute opposition. And while a win would not fully guarantee Switzerland’s place in the second round, the three points would see them take a decisive step towards achieving that aim. Furthermore, whenever the Helvetians have previously drawn their opening match at a World Cup, they have ended up qualifying from their group (in 1938, 1994 and 2006). — Fifa.com.