France and Switzerland, two of the fancied teams to qualify for the knockout stages from Group E, lock horns in Salvador on Friday, with victory granting the winning team a virtual last 16 berth.
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The big Group E match is set for a 4 pm local time (12.30 am IST, 8 pm BST, 3 pm ET) start with live coverage on Sony Six and and Sony Six HD in India. The match can also be watched online via live streaming in India HERE. Catch the match in the UK on ITV and BBC with the live streaming option HERE or HERE. US viewers can watch the game on ESPN while you can also live stream the action HERE. Viewers in Australia can watch HERE online, while South Africa viewers can catch the match HERE.
Switzerland and France are coming off contrasting wins in their respective first Group E matches, with the Swiss having to score a winner with pretty much the last kick of the game to down Ecuador.
France, though, eased past a physical Honduras, courtesy a brace from thank-heavens-he-is-in-form Karim Benzema.
Didier Deschamps, however, will know the 3-0 win over Honduras was far from perfect, and France might have struggled if they had put up a similar performance against stronger opposition.
Benzema's form, though, is a big plus for France, who have the luxury of having two really good centre-forwards in their squad. Deschamps has the option of calling in Olivier Giroud whenever required, while Loic Remy is also capable of doing the job up front.
"Karim is a player of a very high standard who is more than just a goalscorer," Deschamps said. "He also likes to be involved in the build-up [but] I don't want him to feel like he has a special mission, let him stick to what he's good at, without feeling the obligation of being decisive."
Despite losing their talisman Franck Ribery, this France side certainly have the quality and capability to go a long way in the tournament, and Deschamps will want ease the group stages pressure considerably with a win over Switzerland at the Arena Fonte Nova come Friday. The coach, though, insisted No.6 ranked Switzerland start the game as favourites.
"Switzerland is a team with a lot of quality," Deschamps said on Thursday. "In their last 10 games, they won seven times and drew twice and had only one defeat against South Korea. They also beat Brazil during that time.
"If you have a look at their players, they are playing in big European clubs. It is not a surprise to see them being ranked sixth in the world and seeded first in our group. It doesn't mean we won't be up for the task but let's keep in mind they are the favourites and the top seed of this group. We will face an opponent of high quality tomorrow."
Switzerland were not that impressive against Ecuador, needing a late goal to seal the three points. But that win also proved they have quite a lot of fighting quality in them, while also having the trump card of an experienced coach in Otmar Hitzfeld, who worked his magic with his substitutions in the first game.
"I am convinced that this match will give us strength and self-confidence to play better next time," Hitzfeld said after the Ecuador win. "There is a lot of room for improvement and today was a victory of the will. We have to improve if we want to have a chance against France, but I am happy to already have three points in the bag."
Team news: Switzerland: Admir Mehmedi and Haris Seferovic impressed after coming on, scoring the two goals which helped them over the line in the first match. Seferovic could come in for Josep Drmic up front, but it remains to be seen if Hitzfeld will prefer keeping the two players on the bench and expect them to make a late impact again if needed.
France: Didier Deschamps said all his player are fit for the match, meaning midfielder Yohan Cabaye has recovered from a groin injury. "I will just tell you that everybody is available tomorrow," Deschamps said while refusing to hint on his possible starting lineup.
Expected lineups: Switzerland: Benaglio; Lichtsteiner, Djourou, Von Bergen, Rodriguez; Behrami, Inler; Shaqiri, Xhaka, Stocker; Drmic.
France: Lloris; Debuchy, Varane, Sakho, Evra; Pogba, Cabaye, Matuidi; Valbuena, Benzema, Griezmann.
Prediction: 2-1 to France
