Portugal will play Brazil in the last group match today at 15:00 BST in Durban. The match will essentially decide the winner of group G after Portugal’s demolition of North Korea. A result that means Ivory Cost and North Korea are finished at the World Cup, although Ivory Coast could mathematically still qualify for the knockout stage.

Match Preview

We have reached the final day in the “Group of Death” and the match between Portugal and Brazil will decide who tops group G. Before the World Cup most experts expected top prize to be avoiding Spain, but after their shocking defeat by Switzerland, the tables have turned upside-down between the groups. Essentially they are now competing to play against Spain, which mean whoever wins today will face the worlds number two in a 1/8-final.

Brazil is already qualified for the knockout stage after two victories and is going to top group G, if they do not lose against Portugal. On the other hand Portugal will top group G by winning, but can still be reached by Ivory Coast should they lose big against Brazil. It would require a massive nine goal swing between the two teams, which honestly is an impossible scenario for the Ivory Coast.

The match today is between number one and three on the Fifa rankings, which normally would promise an exciting football match, but the controversial prize could play a role. This said we hope and expect both sides will play their normal football and let the ball decide their destiny.

Team Updates

Portugal will still be without Deco for the match today, who also missed the match against North Korea due to his hip injury. The Portuguese coach Carlos Queiroz is expected to hold the team from the previous match, but we could see Liedson and Almeida up front.

The Brazilian side will make at least two changes with Kaka’s suspension and Elano’s injury. They could be replaced by Julio Baptista and Dani Alves. Others might be saved as well for the match today.

Portugal vs Brazil betting tip

Our betting pick will be more than 2.5 goal to odds 2.20 at 888 Sports.

It is difficult to predict a winner in the match because of the top prize. However we expect an open match with a lot of chances and two teams playing more or less freely. Their last encounter ended with 6-2 win for Brazil in 2008, which actually were Portugal’s last defeat. The result could be similar today, as the match can almost be considered a training match before the real tournament starts at the knockout stage.

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Germany will be playing Serbia in the first World Cup match of the day at 12:30 at Port Elizabeth. The German’s impressive performance against Australia promises well for the young German’s in this match, while Serbia can not afford to lose after their disappointing first round match against Ghana.

Match Preview

Football is a game with eleven players and a ball, where Germany wins in the end. It is a cliché, but it might become true after Germany’s fantastic performance in their first round match at the World Cup. Not only did they win, Germany scored four great goals in the match, which in itself contributed to almost a sixth of all the first round goals. However they have not won anything yet and a great first round match is not enough to go through. The German team is among the youngest squads at the World Cup, which mean Joachim Loew’s main task might be to keep them focused and on track. This said, it probably not be a worry for Loew, as the German youngsters have great experience from their home clubs and already have played a considerable amount of International matches.

The expectations were high for Serbia before the World Cup, but they got off to a very bad start and did not contribute much in a drab first round match defeat to Ghana. Going into the match today, they can not afford to lose and must keep their heads high to find the strength and passion to defeat the German favorites. In any case Serbia will have to make changes from the first match, where especially their midfield looked sluggish and without commitment against the Ghanaians. If they do not manage to up their game, they will likely leave the World Cup early on this time.

Team Updates

Unfortunately for Germany they might be missing their playmaker from Bayern Munich, Schweinsteiger, who missed their training session on Wednesday. It will be a big loss for Germany, and coach, Joachim Loew, might be forced to tactical changes to replace him. Currently Germany does not have another midfielder of his standard in the squad, which means we could see new formation from the German’s today.

The Serbians will be missing Alexsander Lukovic after his red card against Ghana. At the same time we expect a few changes in light of their performance in the first round match, where they might replace Nenad Milijas in midfield with Zdravko Kuzmanovic, while also Zoran Tosic is rumored to start against Germany.

Germany vs Serbia betting tip

Our betting pick will be Germany as outright winner at odds 1.61 at 888 sports.

Even though Serbia has a quality squad, they will probably fall short today. Germany can qualify for the last 16 at the World Cup by winning and would be pushing to settle things in this match. At the same they played amazing football in their first round match and likely have more confidence than any other team at the moment.

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