SWITZERLAND v COSTA RICA: As it happened, here.
MASSIVE UPSET: Germany knocked out of the World Cup. Brazil avoid that fate.
01:35 am: Alright then, with this little of nugget of information from the good people at Opta, we take your leave tonight. It’s been an OK day, we guess. Not like the World Champions got knocked out in dramatic style or something. Oh...
FULL-TIME, BRAZIL AND SWITZERLAND PROGRESS: No drama in Group E then (and to be fair, we have had our share of drama for the day, thank you very much). This is how the bracket looks like for the knockouts right now.
MEANWHILE IN SUI v CRC: Late, late drama in that game (inconsequential as it is) – a penalty given for CRC, then reversed using VAR and then another penalty given – all in the last few minutes – that Bryan Ruiz puts away. Costa Rica will return home with a point! Good for them.
FULL-TIME: BRAZIL THROUGH TO ROUND OF 16. Clinical performance from the five-time World Champions...
Meanwhile in SUI v CRC: Switzerland have taken the lead. Drmic scores. Zakaria crosses it in from the right, and the Swiss forward is there at the right place at the right time with a nice, low placed finish. 2-1.
Into 3 mins of stoppage time: End to end stuff but not very exciting, both teams just moving up and down the pitch like it’s a training ground exercise. Serbia, it must be said, have deserved a goal at least for their efforts.
86th minute: Neymar goes close again, the ball breaks to him fortuitously down the right, he tries to chip Stojkovic but the Serbian is out of his line quickly and saves it well.
AS THINGS STAND: It’s going to be Switzerland vs Sweden and Brazil vs Mexico in the round of 16.
83rd minute: Chance, Neymar! Willian with a lovely take to bring down a cross, and he cuts the ball back to Neymar who hits it first time – doesn’t get the connection right, shins it on to the turf and over the crossbar.
After 81 mins, Serbia 0-2 Brazil: Looks like the players are all just going through the motions now. Can’t wait for the referee to still show 5 mins of added time and make it extend longer for all of us.
In another case of how fortunes change in four years..
After 77 minutes, Serbia 0-2 Brazil: It’s now a question of how much Brazil what the goal difference to be tonight, we suppose. The fans are going “OLE OLE” – The wind has been knocked out of Serbia’s sails.
Some numbers about that second goal...
After 70 minutes, Serbia 0-2 Brazil: This group is all but sealed now. Brazil are now breaking forward at will. Filipe Luis with a rasping drive from outside the box, through a crowd of Serbian defenders, saved well by Stojkovic.
Here’s a look at the Brazil goal – Mitrovic on the ground, but he went down far too easily.
68th minute: GOALLLLL, BRAZIL! Well, there you go. For all of Serbia’s pressure, Brazil make them pay for being wasteful. Neymar with a corner, whips in a ball that is met forcefully by Silva and into the net. Serbs claim foul by Miranda in the lead-up to the goal. VAR says nahh.
65th minute - CLOSE, MITROVIC! Oh, if Serbia don’t find an equaliser during this spell, they will rue it a lot. So many chances being created. Again a looping cross targeted at Mitrovic from the right flank, he gets up well, heads the ball down like they are all taught to, but Alisson’s positioning is great for this one and it’s straight at him. Gratefully gathers.
Paulinho is off, in the meantime, replaced by Fernandinho. Tite shoring up his backline there.
63rd minute: GREAT SPELL FOR SERBIA ! They are piling the pressure on Serbia’s goal with cross after cross into the box. Mitrovic is making a nuisance of himself in the box. One cross from the left has Alisson scrambling at his far post.
60th minute: WHAT A LET OFF FOR BRAZIL! A decent cross down the right flank by Serbia but Allison makes a mess of gathering and the ball falls to Mitrovic with Allison out of the picture. He heads it straight at Miranda and the ball rebounds to the GK’s hands.
UPDATE FROM SUI v CRC: Costa Rica become the 32nd and final team to score in Russia. Kendall Waston with a towering header as Los Ticos are level. 1-1. Every team has scored at Russia 2018! That’s nice. Doesn’t change anything for the group though.
Follow live updates here.
58th minute: And Brazil break at speed! What pace! Willian releases Coutinho who slips Neymar in behind Serbian defence, Neymar gets a shot away from a tight angle but saved well by Stojkovic. Back-to-back corners for Brazil, dealt with well by Serbia. Open start to the second half.
56th minute: What a cross by Ljajic into the box from the left flank! It’s whipped in with power and curl. Miranda tried to clear it, got himself into a tangle and the ball just goes over the crossbar. So close to an own goal.
53rd minute: Oh, Serbia waste a big chance to test Allison. Coutinho loses the ball high up the pitch, Matic then sets up a counterattack with four Serbians against three Brazilians – but the Serbs make a meal of it and Brazil clear.
49th minute: YELLOW CARD for Matic as he brings Jesus in the midfield just as he was accelerating towards the goal... taking one for the team there. Also means, should Serbia qualify, Matic will miss the next match.
46th minute: Second half underway... can Serbia pull off something special? Brazil have lost just one of their last 38 World Cup (first) group stage fixtures - a 2-1 defeat versus Norway in 1998. They have lost 3 times in World Cup history in games which they have held a first half lead.
HALF-TIME: It’s 1-0 to Switzerland in the other game. Dzemaili’s goal is the difference between the two teams Costa Rica could have been 3-0 up but they find themselves a goal down. Los Ticos are yet to score in Russia. Follow live updates here.
Brazil, meanwhile, are good value for their lead. Serbia’s strategy has been to pepper the Brazil defence with crosses but Miranda and Silva have handled it pretty well. The only blemish of that half (apart from Neymar’s woeful playacting) was Marcelo’s injury.
Some numbers from that game:
HALF-TIME, BRAZIL LEAD 1-0: The first half ends with Neymar showing he’s decent at football too other than this main occupation of spending time prone on the football turf. A lovely curled shot from the left, fizzes just over the bar.
Into stoppage time: Meanwhile, a little while earlier, more playacting by Neymar. He is putting on an Oscar worthy performance though. First, he rolled and now he’s acting like there was a hand in his face. Only, it wasn’t.
After 44 minutes, Serbia 0-1 Brazil: The talk was all about Neymar but Philippe Coutinho has lit up the World Cup! That was some assist and he’s now been directly involved in 3 of Brazil’s 4 goals.
41st minute: Another corner for Serbia in quick succession and they still can’t trouble Brazil with these set-piece opportunities.
Meanwhile... Cheeky, MR. Lineker.
40th minute: Corner Serbia, it’s a good delivery but met by a strong fist by Allison.
GROUP E STANDINGS: The Brazil goal means, it will be status quo in Group E. Switzerland’s stay at the top of the group was awfully short. Serbia have a mountain to climb now.
35th minute: GOALLLLLLL, BRAZIL! PAULINHO! Oh what a pass from Coutinho! Paulinho makes a late run from midfield which is spotted by his midfield partner, and the former Liverpool man finds his target with a lovely lobbed pass. With the goalkeeper rushing out, Paulinho stabs the ball over him and into the goal.
UPDATE: Dzemaili puts Switzerland in the lead with a cracking finish from close range... they go top of the group as things stand!
Follow live updates here.
34th minute: Mitrovic is found by a nice chipped cross from close to the left byline but his attempted overhead kick is over the crossbar.
32nd minute: Oh, that’s poor from Neymar. He’s on his bike down the left flank. Ljajic makes a lunging tackle alright, but the contact is minimal but Neymar rolls around on the turf over and over to exaggerate and Ljajic is booked.
29th minute: BIG CHANCE, BRAZIL! Serbia try to play a high line, which is dealt with beautifully by a darting run by Jesus – Neymar finds him in acres of space with a through ball. Jesus is through on goal, but with defenders backtracking, he cuts back, moves the ball to his right and gets a shot away - blocked away by Serbia. Jesus could have taken a shot earlier with his left, but the angle became too tight at the end.
27th minute: Another injury worry for Brazil? No, it looks like Jesus is OK to carry on after being down for a bit in the box.
25th minute: CHANCE, NEYMAR! First real chance of the game and it falls to Neymar, who combines well with Jesus down the left hand side in the box. Neymar releases Jesus then (fortuitously) gets the ball back, gets a shot away from a tight angle but Stojkovic gets a hand to it and pushes it away – the angle was probably taking it off target anyway.
After 23 mins, Serbia 0-0 Brazil
It’s a very even start to the game with neither side dominating the other. Serbia, when they go forward, do look threatening with crosses from the flanks.
Maybe this man will be needed in the second half again...
20th minute: First corner of the game for Brazil, they take it short. Neymar and Coutinho combine well but Serbia clear a chipped cross into the box aimed at the former. Brazil pressing well without the ball high up to avoid a Serbian counterattack.
16th minute: Good cross from the left again by Serbia, Mitrovic brought it down on his chest in the box but Miranda clears (replays show the followup of the clearance was a kick in the private parts of the Serb striker) – Brazil break but the chance goes begging after a horrendous cross from Willian, who is again having a poor game.
14th minute: Corner Serbia after a deflected shot...set-pieces are going to be massive in this game for the Serbs if they want to pull off the upset. The delivery is decent but Brazil clear and Serbia are forced to go all the way back.,
12th minute: Willian, who got the axe at halftime in the Serbia game, loses the ball in midfield and puts his team under pressure. Brazil concede a free-kick and the delivery from deep is a fantastic one (what pace, over such distance by Kolarov!) but Allison comes out and punches it away.
Marcelo is in serious pain. Is that the tournament over for him?
9th minute: Oh dear, an early blow for Brazil. Marcelo’s night is done by all indications, he’s in pain down the left touchline, waiting for the ball to be played out. He looks to be in tears, a little bit. Filipe Luis (not a bad replacement, mind you) comes on.
7th minute: First indications of the night that this won’t be straightforward for Brazil, as Tadic is involved heavily in a good move down the left right flank. Brazil clear the danger away when the cross eventually comes in.
4th minute: Chance Brazil! The Selecao have started the match in fourth gear! This a good break down the left as Neymar releases Jesus (was he offside there only?) who gets into the box and gets a shot away, a few seconds later the flag goes up for offside. If that was for during the build-up, that’s a very, very late flag.
2nd minute: Brazil on the charge! Neymar leads the Brazilian attack into Serbian territory with a neat turn of pace, dribbles past a few tackles and rolls the ball across to Coutinho who has a crack at goal but hits his own teammate and it is called offside.
1st minute: Kickoff! Will Brazil turn on the style tonight? Will Serbia let them?
11:29 pm: An absolutely rousing, extended-version rendition of the national anthem by Brazil. Goosebumps, irrespective of where your allegiances lie.
11:28 pm: No Ivanovic today on the right flank for Serbia, presumably because the world has seen enough of how the former Chelsea man has struggled for pace late in his career. And that’s not a great trait to have when up against Neymar.
11:24 pm: Alright then, the teams walk out. As you’d expect anywhere in the world, plenty of Brazil fans in the stands and Serbia have had a very vocal crowd following their team too... this should be a good game.
11;19 pm: Looking back at the talking points from Brazil’s win against Serbia, with two late, late goals.
Undistracted by Neymar and his antics in the 90 minutes before those emotional final moments against Serbia, Selecao got their campaign in Russia up and running, because the supporting cast around him stepped up.
In the 91st minute, like he had done on a few occasions before, Coutinho charged in from the midfield and stabbed home a goal just when it looked like the Costa Rican defender was going to clear it and ease the pressure. Brazil have “a new talisman,” exclaimed the commentator on the world feed, and he was right. For the second game in a row, Coutinho was Brazil’s best player on the pitch.
11:12 pm: Neymar’s post-match tears after Serbia win made plenty of headlines...
“Not everyone knows what I went through to get here,” Neymar tweeted after the match. “Even parrots can talk, but walking the walk... not everyone does it. I cried out of happiness, overcoming, grit and desire to win. Things were never easy in my life, so why would they be now? The dream – no, the OBJECTIVE – is still alive.”
11:10 pm: Pre-match, Brazil coach Tite unpacked a bizarre metaphor about team dynamics, or something.
“The pack needs the wolf and the wolf needs the pack. And a set of wolves is not a pack... what’s the difference between an individual and a group?”
11:07 pm: Just to reiterate the scenarios...
For Serbia to qualify, they have to beat Brazil. Assuming they did:
Irrespective of what happens in the other match, a win for Branislav Ivanovic’s men will put them through. Should Switzerland draw or win against Costa Rica, they would join Serbia in the next round.
But a Costa Rica win would complicate matters further. In such a case, Brazil would need to have a lower goal difference than Switzerland in order to fail to progress. The third parameter, goals scored, sees Brazil ahead with 3 compared to Switzerland’s 2.
If Brazil win or draw against Serbia, then Tite, Neymar and co will go through along with Switzerland.
Serbia will be on a maximum total of 4 points. Their loss against Switzerland condemns them to a lower finish than the Swiss if they were to end up with the same number of points. Switzerland’s match against Costa Rica wouldn’t matter in this scenario.
11:05 pm: If you are looking for a good omen Brazil fans, don’t look at the tweet below.
11:02 pm: Let’s talk about Brazil’s lineup... Brazil stick to what they started with in their first two games except one enforced change with Fagner coming in at right back for the injured Danilo.
10:52 pm: Some reactions from Germany coach Joachim Loew...
“I’m shocked. Shocked because we didn’t manage to pull it off and beat Korea Republic and we lost this game. It wasn’t my impression when I spoke to the team before that they were under pressure before the match because the Sweden game was on at the same time and we really had the feeling that our team wanted to move ahead and qualify for the knockout stages.
“How do we go from here? We’ll have to talk about it calmly and I think it’s premature for me to say something. It will take me some hours to come to terms with it and I’m incredibly disappointed by this elimination.
“Do I think this will bring about a dark time in German football? No, I don’t think so. I think we have young players who are very talented, and some have the potential to go forward. This has happened to other nations before, we just have to draw the right conclusions and make it better going forward.”
10:35 pm: Teams are in for both the games.
The Brazil vs Serbia lineups first up...
10:30 pm: So, the curse of the defending champions, eh?
1998: France WIN World Cup
2002: France OUT in Group Stage
2006: Italy WIN World Cup
2010: Italy OUT in Group Stage
2010: Spain WIN World Cup
2014: Spain OUT in Group Stage
2014: GERMANY WIN World Cup
2018: GERMANY OUT in Group Stage
There were plenty of reaction on Twitter for the result... check them out here.
10:25 pm: If you are just waking up from a slumber wherever you are, the unthinkable has happened. Germany are knocked out from the first round of the World Cup for the first time since 1938.
Match report here.
10:15 pm: Here’s how Group E stands right now. Switzerland, you’d think, best placed to progress. All they need to do is defeat the already-eliminated Costa Rica. It’s a straight knockout between Brazil and Serbia. A draw or a win sends Brazil through... and a defeat, well, we are not sure the football world can handle that!
10:10 pm: Wow. This evening has been incredible. We welcome you to The Field’s live blog of Brazil vs Serbia, a little bit lost for words. Germany have been struck down by the curse of the defending champions. And on that note, we get ready for another round of matches. We are not sure we can handle more upsets, but hey, isn’t that what football is all about?