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World Cup 2018: Friday Live-Stream Schedule, Online Coverage Guide
June 22, 2018
Friday sees the return of Brazil to the FIFA World Cup stage, where they will be heavy favourites to earn their first win of the tournament against Costa Rica.
The Selecao struggled to a 1-1 draw in their opening game against Switzerland, as they were pegged back following Philippe Coutinho's stunning goal. Costa Rica, meanwhile, were beaten by Serbia 1-0 in a tight encounter.
The other two sides in Group E—Switzerland and Serbia—will meet in what should be an intriguing encounter to wrap up the day's play. Sandwiched between those two matches will be Iceland against Nigeria from Group D.
Here are the matches to come on Friday and all the information you need on where to catch the action online.
Friday Fixtures
Brazil vs. Costa Rica, 1 p.m. BST/8 a.m. ET*
Nigeria vs. Iceland, 4 p.m. BST/11 a.m. ET**
Serbia vs. Switzerland, 7 p.m. BST/2 p.m. ET**
All matches can be streamed be streamed via Fox Sports Go in the United States
*Match can be streamed via ITV Hub in the United Kingdom
**Matches can be streamed via BBC iPlayer in the United Kingdom
Friday Preview
In the early stages of their game against Switzerland, Brazil were spellbinding at times; when they took the lead through Coutinho, they didn't look like slipping up.
But complacency crept into their play, and they allowed their opponents a route back into the game. Aside from a late flurry, few clear-cut chances were created by the Selecao in the second period.
Much of that was due to the manner in which Switzerland were able to nullify the influence of Neymar on the night.
As noted by the Selecao Brasileiro Twitter account, the Swiss were aggressive in their approach at times:
The worry for Brazil is that, after seeing this, other teams will seek to use some roughhouse tactics against their star man, who has been suffering from injury before the tournament and missed one day of training in the buildup to the game too.
Brazil do at least have a man in red-hot form in Coutinho, as we can see here:
With a point secured against Brazil, Switzerland will feel they are in a strong position to qualify from the group. They will need to get something from the match against Serbia, though.
The Serbs weren't free-flowing in their win over Costa Rica and required a moment of magic from captain Aleksandar Kolarov to lift them to a 1-0 win.
The AS Roma wing-back thumped home an incredible 30-yard free-kick to beat inspired Costa Rica goalkeeper Keylor Navas.
The most impressive performer on the day for Serbia was Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, a player many have tipped to announce himself on the world stage in Russia. As noted by Ed Malyon of The Independent, the Lazio man is part of a brutish central midfield:
Iceland will be out to build on their strong start to the tournament in their second match, having drawn 1-1 with Argentina.
While the Scandinavian team are very much a unit, they would have been delighted to see star man Gylfi Sigurdsson perform well on his return to competitive football.
As noted by journalist Ben Dinnery, the midfielder put in a colossal display:
Ben Dinnery @BenDinneryGylfi quashes fitness concerns after missing the previous three months due to a knee injury. No-one covered more distance during the #ARG #ISL game - 11 048 m - [a km more than the team average] or attempted more sprints [41]. Top speed 27.22 km/h. #EFC https://t.co/6qjefiOkFB
Iceland as a whole were able to hold their own against Argentina, defending well and attacking with incision on the break.
They are not traits you would associate with Nigeria after they slumped to a 2-0 loss against Croatia without really troubling their opponents.
Super Eagles head coach Salisu Yusuf must find a way to add more cohesion to his side, or they will be staring down the barrel of a second straight loss.