Event of the Day: Brazil versus Costa Rica
Our event of the day is the Football World Cup 2018 match between Brazil and Costa Rica at the Krestovsky Stadium in St. Petersburg, Russia. Both squads are coming off disappointing performances in their respective opening matches in Group E. Brazil could only muster a 1-1 draw against Switzerland while Costa Rica fell 1-0 to Serbia. These two teams last met in 2015 with Brazil claiming a 1-0 victory. The South American side has historically gotten the better of Costa Rica, having won nine out of the 10 times they have faced each other. Regarded by many as World Cup favourites, Brazil will need to adopt a more urgent approach if they want to earn a win. Although they dominated for most of their opener against Switzerland, they lacked a killer instinct to get the result.
Look for a confident Brazilian squad to come out against Costa Rica. They will no doubt look for another strong performance from Philippe Coutinho, who scored their lone goal in the opener. Brazil will also expect their star Neymar to play like the world class talent he is. After suffering an ankle knock in the opener it appears he is fit and ready to go for today’s match. After a quarter-final appearance in the 2014 World Cup, Costa Rica entered this year's tournament with high hopes. They will need to get something from the game against Brazil to maintain any hope of advancing past the Group stage. With the pressure on for both squads it should be a superb match!
Honourable mentions around the globe go to the AFL clash between Port Adelaide and Melbourne Demons at the Adelaide Oval. This is a huge contest for both squads as they are tied with 32 points a piece in the ladder heading into today’s game. Port Adelaide will be trying to make it three wins in a row against a fresh Melbourne team coming off a bye. Rugby League fans will be keen to watch the Castleford Tigers host the Wigan Warriors at the Mend-A-Hose Jungle in Super League action. In Major League Baseball, the AL Central leading Cleveland Indians welcome the Detroit Tigers to the Progressive Stadium. The week-long Royal Ascot race meeting enters it’s fourth day of the event. Cricket taking place today include the third day of four County Championship Division One matches. The marquee matchup between top of the table squads Somerset and Surrey will be a good one to watch. ATP World Tour tennis continues with the Queen’s Club Championships and the Gerry Weber Open. WTA World Tour tennis is on display in Spain with Day 5 of the Mallorca Open. The fifth day of the Nature Valley Championships is also taking place in Birmingham. It is Day 2 of the PGA Tour Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands in the United States. The European Tour BMW International Open enters it’s second round of play at Gut Laerchenhof Golf Club in Germany. In addition to the Brazil versus Costa Rica matchup, World Cup matches take place between Nigeria and Iceland as well as Serbia and Switzerland.
Whatever you’re watching, enjoy!
Photos by FIFA