World Cup: A look at Friday's World Cup schedule - Los Angeles Times
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World Cup: A look at Friday’s World Cup schedule

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A look at the matchups for World Cup games Friday:

GROUP E

BRAZIL VS. COSTA RICA

Where: St. Petersburg

Time: 5 a.m. PDT

TV: FS1, Telemundo

The buzz: Brazil’s tournament got off to a ragged start in a draw with Switzerland, and now Neymar is limping out of training. But Costa Rica may be in even worse shape after losing to Serbia in a game that was dead even. That has the Central Americans needing at least a draw here to keep alive their hopes of getting out of the group.

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SERBIA VS. SWITZERLAND

Where: Kaliningrad

Time: 11 a.m. PDT

TV: Fox, Telemundo

The buzz: Aleksandar Kolarov’s stunning free-kick goal made Serbia the only team in the group to win its first game, leaving it in control of its own destiny. A win over Switzerland and it moves on to the knockout stage; even a draw would leave it well-positioned to advance. For Switzerland, meanwhile, a loss wouldn’t be fatal but it would complicate things, while a win or draw would leave the Swiss well-positioned heading into the final game.

GROUP D

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NIGERIA VS. ICELAND

Where: Volgograd

Time: 8 a.m. PDT

TV: Fox, Telemundo.

The buzz: Keeper Hannes Halldorsson’s save of a Lionel Messi penalty kick to preserve Iceland’s draw with Argentina is one of the memorable moments of the tournament thus far. Iceland played a selfless and unattractive defensive game, parking the bus in front of the net and absorbing 26 shots. Expect it to use a similar approach against a quick and athletic Nigeria team. As the only team in the group without a point, Nigeria needs at least a draw against Iceland to keep its World Cup alive.

[email protected] | Twitter: @kbaxter11

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