World Cup Today, 19/6/14

So, there is a bit of a game of football on today, and England are involved which means bad things for the coverage unfortunately. With the opposition being spearheaded by the notorious Luis Suarez, provided his knee holds up there is an even greater chance of nationalistic hyperbole before the night is out, and we can only hope the Liverpool striker has a clean game unfettered by the unsporting acts that have come to define him in sections of the English press, for the sake of our ears and our collective patience.

Suarez has been declared fit to start for Uruguay, but their captain Diego Lugano is out and Maxi Pereira is banned. England picked up no injuries in their loss to Italy, but doubts remain over Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who is back in training following a knee ligament issue, but hasn’t featured yet. If England lose this match it will probably signal the end of their 2014 World Cup campaign after 180 minutes, and could also see a change of manager, or at least sustained calls for one, and while their manager may be more secure Uruguay are also a loss away from elimination, having gone down against Costa Rica 3-1.

At the top of Group C we find Colombia and Cote d’Ivoire, as they’re known internationally, and the fact they are together at the top of that group could make their match less exciting than it might otherwise be. The Colombians in particular were impressive in their match against Greece and could name the same XI as in that game, although Fredy Guarin is available after a ban and Carlos Bacca out. Sabri Lamouchi, coach of the Ivory Coast must decide whether to recall Didier Drogba or stick with Wilfried Bony, who scored against Japan eventually, but otherwise has no new concerns on the injury front.

Like England and Uruguay, tonight is also crucial for Japan and Greece if they want to play a fourth match in the 2014 World Cup and that should make for a frantic game that both sides are actively trying to win when they meet in Natal. A draw in the other match would make the final day a little bit more interesting but the fact is that three points are the focus, and goals are key. Striker Yoshito Okubo could replace Yuya Osako for Japan with that in mind, where Greece are expected to drop Jose Holebas in defence and possibly recall Kostas Mitroglou and Ioannis Fetfatzidis, and the managers are facing one of the most important team selections they’ll ever make.