England’s World Cup fate lies in their hands on Thursday as they face a tough group match against Uruguay in Sao Paulo and you can watch all the tension and drama unfold live on ITV and ITV HD.
The Three Lion’s World Cup campaign continues with their second Group D match at the Sao Paulo Arena, though defeats for both countries in their opening matches means this fixture is considered must-win.
After their narrow 2-1 defeat to Italy in their opening game, Roy Hodgson will be desperate for his team to take points here to keep the goal of qualifying for the knock-out stages of the competition in their own hands.
But Uruguay, riding high in the FIFA rankings, will be imposing opponents on home South American soil, with the climate perhaps in their favour and boasting a player with whom England fans will be more than familiar.
Currently sitting in sixth place in the world FIFA rankings, Uruguay are a footballing force to be reckoned with, despite the population of the country being less than three and half million.
The team made it to the semi-finals in 2010 in South Africa, but many people’s lasting impression of that tournament will be the quarter-final in which they eliminated Ghana, with the help of a hand-of-God moment from Luis Suarez when he saved a certain Ghanaian goal with his hand.
The striker has since rehabilitated himself, certainly in the eyes of Liverpool fans, but will the knee operation which he underwent before the tournament limit his influence? Many England fans will be hoping so.
ITV will be the only place to watch the action unfold in Sao Paulo with its coverage starting at 7.00pm ahead of an 8.00pm kick-off.
Elsewhere on day eight, the BBC will screen live coverage of the other two games, starting with Colombia against Ivory Coast in Brasilia at 5.00pm.
Colombia are the top Group C seeds but face a tough examination against a powerful Ivory Coast side featuring the likes of Didier Drogba and Yaya Toure.
Concluding the action in the late game at 11.00pm will be the clash between Japan and Greece, also in Group C.
The Japanese are the reigning Asian champions and a rising force in international football, while Greece caused one of the biggest surprises at a major tournament when they won the European Championship a decade ago as 100-1 outsiders.
Veterans Georgios Karagounis and Konstantinos Katsouranis are the only survivors from that squad and will hope to inspire the Greeks to upset the odds again this summer as they try to progress from the group stage for the first time in their history.
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 8 of the 2014 FIFA World Cup:
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DAY 8: THURSDAY 19th JUNE
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| GROUP C LIVE: 4.30pm-7.05pm Venue: Brasilia |
WATCH LIVE ONLINE via BBC iPLAYER
Thursday’s action kicks off in Group C as Colombia take on Ivory Coast at the Estadio Nacional in Brasilia.
These are arguably the strongest sides in the group, and both enjoyed victories in their opening fixtures, with Colombia comfortably defeating Greece 3-0, and the Ivory Coast coming from behind to beat Japan 2-1.
The South Americans managed without talismanic striker Radamel Falcao, who is missing through injury, and demonstrated the strength in depth in their squad by outclassing the dismal Greeks.
Ivory Coast started with Didier Drogba on the bench against the Japanese, but his introduction to the match in the second half inspired his side to victory.
He will be supported by the likes of Yaya Toure and Gervinho as the Elephants look to triumph in the first-ever meeting between these nations.
There will also be a preview of England’s match against Uruguay, which kicks off at 8.00pm (see below).
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| GROUP D LIVE: 7.00pm-10.30pm Venue: Sao Paulo |
WATCH LIVE ONLINE via ITV PLAYER
England meet Uruguay at the Arena de Sao Paulo match game that will go a long way to deciding each sides’ respective World Cup ambitions.
The Three Lions lost their opener 2-1 against Italy in Manaus, but showed enough signs of promise to maintain their hopes of reaching the last 16, especially as Uruguay looked poor in their surprise 3-1 defeat against Costa Rica.
The results leave both teams desperately fighting for points and the game is pivotal to both nations.
Roy Hodgson has a wealth of attacking talent to choose from, but knows his side need to improve defensively, especially if Uruguay talisman Luis Suarez returns from the injury that prevented him from taking the field in their first fixture.
Should Hodgson need to take comfort from history, he can at least look back to the successful 1966 World Cup finals, which saw England face Uruguay in the group stage before going on to win the tournament.
ITV’s exclusive live coverage starts at 7.00pm with a full hour-long build-up in the company of presenter Adrian Chiles, alongside studio pundits Lee Dixon, Glenn Hoddle and Gus Poyet, while Matt Smith and Andros Townsend report live from the stadium.
Match commentary comes from Clive Tyldesley and Andy Townsend, with reports and interviews with the key players from Gabriel Clarke.
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| GROUP C LIVE: 10.35pm-1.10am Venue: Natal |
WATCH LIVE ONLINE via BBC iPLAYER
Day eight concludes with the Group C clash between Japan and Greece which takes place at the Estadio das Dunas in Natal.
When the draw was made in December, this group looked to be one of the hardest to predict, with Colombia and Ivory Coast also involved, and both of these nations need a victory to get their campaigns back on track.
Japan took the lead against the Ivorians before succumbing to a 2-1 defeat, while Greece were outplayed in their 3-0 loss to the Colombians.
There is little indication to be gained from past results between the two, as they have only met once before at full international level, and that was in the 2005 Confederations Cup in Germany, when Japan recorded a 1-0 win.
The Japanese are appearing in their fifth successive World Cup finals, having established themselves as a leading force in Asian football, while Greece may consider their achievement in qualifying as a greater one, given that they conceded just four goals in 10 group matches, before a two-legged play-off triumph over Romania sealed their place in Brazil.
BBC One’s live coverage will also feature highlights and reaction to England’s match against Uruguay in Sao Paulo played earlier this evening.
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SPORT ON THE BOX’S COMPLETE WORLD CUP TV GUIDE
Thursday 19th June Match of the Day: World Cup Highlights – Day 7 7.50am-8.20am BBC Two COLOMBIA v IVORY COAST Group C – Brasilia | Kick-off: 17:00 LIVE: 4.30pm-7.05pm BBC One URUGUAY v ENGLAND Group D – Sao Paulo | Kick-off: 20:00 LIVE: 7.30pm-10.30pm ITV Replay: 1.05am-2.50am BBC Two JAPAN v GREECE Group C – Natal | Kick-off: 23:00 LIVE: 10.35pm-1.10am BBC One.
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