Match 1: Costa Rica v Serbia (0-1)
It was a fast and furious start to this match with both sides creating a number of good chances in the opening three minutes. The pace of the game was certainly pleasing on the eye but we all knew that the tempo couldn’t be maintained.
Once the match settled down a bit, it was Serbia who started to assert their dominance and were creating the better goal scoring opportunities. 23 year old, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, really impressed in the first half as the 6 foot 4 Lazio midfielder showed good footwork and composure beyond his years.
It took 55 minutes for the ball to find the net in this match. An Aleksandar Kolorov free kick was curled beautifully into the top right corner. Real Madrid and Costa Rica goalkeeper, Keylor Navas, stood no chance as the Serbian captain had perfectly placed the ball just inside the post.
Costa Rica initially responded well but Serbia saw out the game to win 1-0.
Match 2: Germany v Mexico (0-1)
Germany v Mexico promised to be one of the most entertaining matches of the tournament and it did not disappoint. Just like the previous game, both sides flew out of the traps, except this time the intensity did not drop.
There were lots of shots on goal in the first half and something had to give. Mexico were flooding forwards at every opportunity and they eventually made the German’s pay for their terrible defence. The Mexican breakaway found Hirving Lozano on the left and he took Mesut Ozil one-on-one. Lozano showed his quick footwork to create the space needed for a shot, and he beat Neuer at the near post.
The match remained an open one in the second half but the German’s had bucked their ideas up. They were the ones who were chasing the game and creating the more chances to score. Germany continued to pile on the pressure but time and time again they squandered their goal scoring opportunities.
History is now not on Germany’s side as only once in history has a nation lost their opening game and gone on to lift the FIFA World Cup trophy.
Match 3: Brazil v Switzerland (1-1)
The most anticipated game of the day was the final one between World Cup favourites, Brazil, and Switzerland.
Everybody was hoping that the Brazilians would put on a show and it didn’t take long for them to produce the first goal of the game. In the 20th minute, Phillipe Coutinho struck one of his trademark long shots and he curled the ball sublimely into the top right corner of the goal. Switzerland keeper, Yann Sommer, would have had a better chance getting his hands on the sun than saving Coutinho’s shot.
Brazil didn’t make their attacking advantage count though. In the 50th minute, from a corner, Steven Zuber jumped the highest and headed home the equalizer. The Swiss somehow managed to keep Brazil at bay in the closing minutes of the match to hang on for a point.
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