It’s fair to say that Costa Rica’s victory over Uruguay was slightly more of a shock than England losing to Italy, but how the expectations may have stacked up pre-game meant nothing for Edinson Cavani and co., and Italy will need to be on form to win this game. Three points for either side would secure qualification for round two with a game to spare, allowing the manager to rest any borderline players or older squad members feeling the pace, but the apparently security of a draw may be too much to resist playing for, especially for the Costa Ricans. In terms of team news, Italy have Gianluigi Buffon and Mattia De Sciglio back in training, but at this point it is still unclear whether the pair are ready to play, while Andrea Barzagli and Daniele De Rossi picked up minor will be assessed pre-match, while Costa Rica look set to continue unchanged with the 5-4-1 formation that has got them into this position.
At the top of Group E we find France and Switzerland, and that is slightly less of a surprise than Costa Rica, for example, with the Europeans both expected to go well in their group. This match is another one where the potential winner would secure a place in the next round, and although there is a degree of safety in not losing it seems this current France team is determined to make a mark, and should go for the victory. Swiss manager Ottmar Hitzfeld must decide on a couple of potential replacements based on form, but other than that is free from injury woes, while France waiting on Yohan Cabaye to recover from a groin problem, and have a few others one game from a ban after a feisty encounter with Honduras.
The Hondurans themselves line up against Ecuador in the late kick off knowing that a victory is a realistic bare minimum if they want to go further than the end of the group stages, but the heavy loss to France won’t have filled them with confidence while Ecuador pushed Switzerland close, and might feel good about this game as a result. Wilson Palacios is banned for Honduras after another in a string of stupid red cards, while Ecuador have one man on a yellow card and a booking away from missing the third game in the group.
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