Serbia vs. Switzerland

Group E, Kaliningrad Stadium, Kaliningrad

Goal Serbia!

The Eagles are off to a cracking start and look well on their way to sealing a place in the knockout stage. In the 6th minute, Dušan Tadić sent a cross from wide in the right wing to the six-yard box where Aleksandar Mitrović was waiting, and bumped a header into an open piece of net.

The colors in this game are really confusing

For the record: Serbia is in red, Switzerland is in white.

Starting lineups announced

Pregame thoughts

Since the breakup of Yugoslavia, Serbia has incubated its fair share of soccer talent, but that hasn’t translated to success on the pitch. After defeating Costa Rica, Serbia is in the driver’s seat in Group E, which also includes Brazil. A win Friday would solidify Serbia’s place in the knockout round. Switzerland recently jumped into the top 10 in FIFA’s world rankings. A loss here would spell trouble for its hopes of advancing after a 1-1 draw with Brazil in its first tournament game.

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When: Friday, June 22, 2 p.m. Eastern.

How to watch on TV: Fox.

How to stream online: Fox Sports and the Fox Soccer Match Pass apps and FoxSportsGo.com.

How to watch in Spanish: Telemundo.

How to watch in Canada: Bell Media’s TSN and CTV networks, the TSN GO app and TSN.ca/live.

Team profiles

Serbia (1-0-0, 3 points)

  • Last World Cup showing: Group stage, 2010.
  • Best finish: Semifinals (as the Kingdom of Yugoslavia), 1930.
  • Notable: Has not been to the round of 16 since 1998, when it was still known as Yugoslavia.
  • FIFA world ranking: 34. ELO world ranking: 20.

Switzerland (0-1-0, 1 point)

  • Last World Cup showing: Round of 16, 2014.
  • Best finish: Semifinals, 1954, 1938, 1934.
  • Notable: The Swiss won nine of their 10 qualifying matches and are in their fourth straight World Cup.
  • FIFA world ranking: 6. ELO world ranking: 10.

Players to watch

Serbia midfielder Nemanja Matic (Manchester United) can score from distance and is adept at controlling the tempo of the game with the ball on his foot. Swiss defender Ricardo Rodriguez (AC Milan) is a veteran of the squad even at age 25. Switzerland will go as far as Rodriguez will take them.

What’s next

Serbia: vs. Brazil in St. Petersburg, June 27, 2 p.m.

Switzerland: vs. Costa Rica in Nizhny Novgorod, June 27, 2 p.m.

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