CHRIS SUTTON’S
WORLD CUP WEEKEND BOOTROOM
BELGIUM v TUNISIA GROUP G TODAY, 1pm MOSCOW, SPARTAK, BBC
EdEN HAzArd’S claims that romelu lukaku hid in the first half against Panama tell us that team spirit isn’t what it should be. Belgium will still have too much for Tunisia, who were lucky England weren’t more ruthless.
VERDICT: 2-0 Belgium
BELGIUM (3-4-2-1): Courtois; Vertonghen, Boyata, Alderweireld; Meunier, De Bruyne, Witsel, Carrasco; Mertens, Hazard; Lukaku. TUNISIA (4-4-1-1): Ben Mustapha; Bronn, S Ben Youssef, Meriah, Haddadi; F Ben Youssef, Sassi, Skhiri, Badri; Khazri; Sliti. Referee: Jair Marrufo (USA). Radio: LIVE on BBC Radio 5 Live and talkSPORT.
SOUTH KOREA v MEXICO GROUP F TODAY, 4pm ROSTOV, ITV
MEXICo were brilliant in beating Germany and will not slip up here with their attacking style. South Korea need to bounce back after a disappointing start against Sweden but scoring is a problem for them.
VERDICT: 3-1 Mexico
SOUTH KOREA (4-3-3): Jo; Lee Yong, Kim Young-gwon, Jang, Kim Min-woo; Ki, Jung, Lee Jae-sung; Hwang Hee-chan, Son, Lee Seung-woo. MEXICO (4-3-3): Ochoa; Salcedo, Ayala, Moreno, Gallardo; Layun, Herrera, Guardado; Vela, Hernandez, Lozano. Referee: Milorad Mazic (Serbia). Radio: LIVE on 5 Live Sports Extra and talkSPORT.
GERMANY v SWEDEN GROUP F TODAY, 7pm SOCHI, ITV
GErMANY are under severe pressure after getting off to the worst possible start. The dogged and resolute Swedes will not make it easy for the Germans but I am backing them to handle the heat.
VERDICT: 2-1 Germany
GERMANY (4-2-3-1): Neuer; Kimmich, Sule, Boateng, Hector; Khedira, Kroos; Muller, Ozil, Reus; Gomez. SWEDEN (4-4-2): Olsen; Lustig, Granqvist, Jansson, Augustinsson; Claesson, Larsson, Ekdal, Forsberg; Berg, Toivonen. Referee: Szymon Marciniak (Poland). Radio: LIVE on BBC Radio 5 Live and talkSPORT.
JAPAN v SENEGAL GROUP H TOMORROW, 4pm EKATERINBURG, BBC
THE winner takes all in terms of getting through to the last 16 after both teams got off to a flyer. This should be a comfortable win for Senegal, though. They have too much pace and power for Japan.
VERDICT: 2-0 Senegal
JAPAN (4-2-3-1): Kawashima; Sakai, Yoshida, Shoji, Nagatomo; Shibasaki, Hasebe; Haraguchi, Kagawa, Inui; Osako. SENEGAL (4-4-2): K N’Diaye; Wague, Sane, Koulibaly, Sabaly; Sarr, Gueye, A N’Diaye, Mane; Diouf, Niang. Referee: Gianluca Rocchi (Italy). Radio: LIVE on BBC Radio 5 Live and talkSPORT.
POLAND v COLOMBIA GROUP H TOMORROW, 7pm KAZAN, ITV
PolANd rely too heavily on robert lewandowski. When he’s not at it, the others need to step up. Colombia showed great spirit when down to 10 men against Japan and I can see this being a hard-fought draw.
VERDICT: 1-1
POLAND (4-2-3-1): Szczesny; Piszczek, Cionek, Pazdan, Rybus; Krychowiak, Zielinski; Bednarek, Kownacki, Grosicki; Lewandowski. COLOMBIA (4-2-3-1): Ospina; Arias, D Sanchez, Murillo, Mojica; Lerma, Barrios; Cuadrado, Rodriguez, Izquierdo; Falcao. Referee: Cesar Ramos (Mexico). Radio: LIVE on BBC Radio 5 Live and talkSPORT.