Two of Europe’s top teams will lock horns on day five of the 2014 FIFA World Cup as Germany take on Portugal in one of the pick of the matches from the group stages.
There’s a group of death in every World Cup and group G looks like a strong candidate this time around as the two European powerhouses start their campaigns in Salvador in the first encounter of day five.
Paulo Bento, the former Benfica and Sporting player, had his contract extended in April as coach of Portugal, underlining the good work he has done with the national team.
He led them to the semi-final of Euro 2012 where they only narrowly missed out to Spain, the eventual winners, however, he did suffer the ignominy of enduring a play-off qualifier against Sweden on the way to Brazil.
Portugal will be looking for Cristiano Ronaldo to turn on the style up front while his experienced Real Madrid team-mates Pepe and Fabio Contrão keep things tight at the back.
Germany had no such flirtations with disaster in their qualifiers, dropping just two points in ten games and they start the tournament among the favourites to take the trophy, with a squad centred around players from the well-oiled machines of Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich.
Joachim Low has an impressive array of talent at his disposal – but the national side haven’t lifted a trophy since Euro ’96 and the German public are growing impatient.
With both teams the favourites to progress from this group, will they cancel each other out, or will one of these great European sides crank up the pressure on their rival’s quest towards the knock-out phase?
Following that match will be the clash between Iran and Nigeria, which takes place at Curitiba’s Arena da Baixada.
The Iranians are the outsiders in Group F, having won only one of their previous nine World Cup matches and they are coached by former Real Madrid boss Carlos Queiroz, who led Portugal at the 2010 tournament.
The majority of Queiroz’s squad play their domestic football in Iran, but he has also selected several players born abroad of Iranian descent – such as Fulham’s Ashkan Dejagah.
Nigeria are the reigning African champions and will have high hopes of reaching the last 16 for the first time since 1998.
The Super Eagles’ biggest star is Chelsea’s John Obi Mikel, who tends to play a more creative role for his country than for his club.
Finally, Ghana take on the USA in the Estadio Das Dunas in Natal at 11.00pm, with both these sides desperate to win knowing the might of Germany and Portugal await in their subsequent group matches.
The USA are coached by German World Cup winner Jurgen Klinsmann and have a host of Premier League players, past and present, in their squad.
Ghana came agonisingly close to becoming the first African side to reach a World Cup semi-final in South Africa four years ago, along the way they beat the USA in the second round.
You can watch all 64 matches from the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil live across the BBC and ITV, with live streaming available online across multiple platforms.
Visit our dedicated World Cup page – sport-onthebox.com/worldcup – for a full rundown of everything you need to know.
SOTB’s TV viewing guide to Day 5 of the 2014 FIFA World Cup:
.
.
DAY 5: MONDAY 16th JUNE
.
| GROUP G LIVE: 4.00pm-7.10pm Venue: Salvador |
WATCH LIVE ONLINE via ITV PLAYER
Group G gets under way with this clash between two highly fancied European sides at the Arena Fonte Nova in Salvador.
The Germans have not won the World Cup since 1990, but have been a consistent force in recent stagings of the competition, losing to Brazil in the 2002 final before finishing third in both 2006 and 2010.
They are also expected to be major contenders this time around, having qualified with nine wins and a draw from their 10 matches.
In contrast, Portugal toiled in their efforts to make the finals, before eventually booking their place by defeating Sweden 4-2 on aggregate in the play-off round, with all of their goals in the tie scored by Cristiano Ronaldo.
The last World Cup meeting between the sides was in the 2006 third-place play-off, when Germany recorded a 3-1 win to end their home tournament on a high.
Since then, they have also claimed one-goal victories over the Portuguese in the group stages of the 2008 and 2012 European Championships, but the formidable presence of Ronaldo alone will ensure they do not underestimate their opponents on this occasion.
.
.
| GROUP F LIVE: 7.30pm-10.05pm Venue: Curitiba |
WATCH LIVE ONLINE via BBC iPLAYER
The first of the BBC’s two live World Cup clashes today begins at the Arena da Baixada in Curitiba where Iran and Nigeria play their first match in Group F.
This is only the second-ever meeting between these nations, and the first at a World Cup, and both will see this as an ideal opportunity to start the tournament with a positive result ahead of fixtures against Argentina and Bosnia-Herzegovina.
While many may not think of Iran as a footballing nation this is actually their fourth appearance at a World Cup finals, and the third they have qualified for of the last five to be held.
However, former Manchester United assistant manager Carlos Queiroz will have to utilise all of his knowledge and experience in Brazil if he is to help improve their record at the finals, as they have only ever won one match and their overall record includes six losses in nine contests.
Nigeria can boast a slightly stronger World Cup pedigree, having made it to a fifth tournament since USA ’94, after topping their qualification group with three wins and three draws before overcoming Ethiopia in a two-legged play-off.
.
.
| GROUP G LIVE: 10.40pm-1.10am Venue: Natal |
WATCH LIVE ONLINE via BBC iPLAYER
The Estadio das Dunas in Natal plays host to final match of day five as Group G rivals Ghana and the United States get their campaigns under way.
With Germany and Portugal also in this group, these teams are clearly the two underdogs in the quest to reach the last 16, but there is no doubt they have the quality to cause an upset, and three points here would be a major boost to their chances.
By a strange quirk of fate, this is the third consecutive World Cup finals that the nations have been drawn together, and Ghana will take confidence from the previous two meetings, both of which they won 2-1.
Their fixture four years ago was in the last 16 and went to extra-time, with the Black Stars progressing to a controversial quarter-final defeat to Uruguay, and took place after the USA had topped a group also containing England.
Qualification for both sides this time around proved relatively straightforward, with Ghana winning five of their six group matches before thrashing Egypt in the play-offs, and the USA won their final qualifying group to reach a seventh consecutive finals.
.
.
SPORT ON THE BOX’S COMPLETE WORLD CUP TV GUIDE
Monday 16th June Match of the Day: World Cup Highlights – Day 4 7.50am-8.20am BBC Two GERMANY v PORTUGAL Group G – Salvador | Kick-off: 17:00 LIVE: 4.00pm-7.10pm ITV Replay: 1.20am-3.05am BBC Two IRAN v NIGERIA Group F – Curitiba | Kick-off: 20:00 LIVE: 7.30pm-10.05pm BBC One GHANA v UNITED STATES Group G – Natal | Kick-off: 23:00 LIVE: 10.40pm-1.10am BBC One.
.
