clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

World Cup Matchday 4 recap: Free kick magic from Serbia; El Tri stuns the champs; the Swiss neutralize Brazil

Down goes Germany

Another eventful day in the 2018 World Cup has come to an end. The day began with Serbia edging out Costa Rica in a hard fought, even match. Next up we saw one of the bigger upsets in recent World Cup history. The day was capped off with Brazil and Switzerland ending in an exciting hard fought draw.

Serbia 1-0 Costa Rica

Group E got underway with a scrappy 90 minutes from both sides. It might not have been pretty but this could prove to be a crucial three points for Serbia in their race to finish in the top two of this group. There were not too many chances in this game but credit to Serbia for taking advantage of their opportunity. The lone goal in the match came from a magnificent free kick from Serbian captain Aleksander Kolarov.

Brazil 1-1 Switzerland

To cap off the day for Group E, Switzerland fought back from a goal down to draw with one of the tournament favorites, Brazil. After controlling the beginning of the match, the South American giants did not have to wait too long for their opening goal thanks to Phillipe Coutinho. The midfielder demonstrated perfect technique on one of his trademark curling efforts to the back post.

The Swiss later equalized with a towering header from Steven Zuber from a corner kick early in the second half. Multiple chances in the dying minutes of the match were not enough to break the deadlock, so both sides had to settle for a draw in their opening match.

Group E Standings

Teams W D L GF GA GD PTS
Teams W D L GF GA GD PTS
BRA 2 1 0 5 1 4 7
SUI 1 2 0 5 4 1 5
SRB 1 0 2 2 4 -2 3
CRC 0 1 2 2 5 -3 1

Mexico 1-0 Germany

In one of the more stunning matches in recent memory, not only did Mexico hang with the defending champions, but they were clearly the better team today. They looked dangerous going forward and defended miraculously. At times the Germans looked out of ideas and confused. The CONCACAF side were brilliant with their speed of play, and it really showed when launching counter attacks, while the Germans looked a step behind most of the game. Mexico was unlucky not to put a few more past Manuel Neuer. Maybe Landon Donovan was right; is the El Tri supporters group still accepting members?

Group F will finish up their first round of matches tomorrow with Sweden and South Korea.

Group F Standings

Teams W D L GF GA GD PTS
Teams W D L GF GA GD PTS
Mex 1 0 0 1 0 1 3
Kor 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
SWE 0 0 0 0 0 0
Ger 0 0 1 0 1 -1 0

What did you think of the day’s games? Do you think Germany can pick themselves up and move on, or will the defending champs’ curse of Italy and Spain continue? Let us know in the comments.