The two early games are must-see. The late game is not.
Colombia vs. Côte d'Ivoire - 12 p.m. ET, ESPN
Where: Estadio Nacional, Brasilia
Colombia 2, Ivory Coast 1: Colombia manages two-goal lead to earn three points
Why I'm watching Colombia: More aggression and more scoring and more coffee yes more coffee please. No other team matches their name-- "los cafeteros," aka "the coffeemakers" -- and their mode of soccer more harmoniously, as Greece found out in a 3-0 drubbing that could have been oh so much worse. Colombia likes to throw a lot of bodies forward, and hence is capable of leaving a lot of space for opponents to counter on the back end. Côte d'Ivoire is going to do this, and probably score on Colombia in a moment of frantic defensive negligence. James Rodriguez will help get a goal back, because he is brilliant and good at soccering things.
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Colombia v. Ivory Coast ![]()
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Colombia v. Ivory Coast ![]()
Why I'm watching Côte d'Ivoire: EVEN MORE AGGRESSION. Les Elephants rolled through Japan once Didier Drogba came off the bench, creating the only real problem thus far for the Ivorians: deciding whether to keep Drogba as a supersub, or to start him and watch the goals rain sideways into the net. Côte d'Ivoire likes to throw a lot of bodies forward, and hence is capable of leaving a lot of space for opponents to counter on the back end. Colombia is going to do this, and probably score on Côte d'Ivoire in a moment of frantic defensive negligence. These teams are very similar in spirit, so watch standing up and in a place where you can yell without waking anyone up.
Intangibles: Each team trying to out-underachieve the other, the continued distraction of thousands of Colombian fans having punchy, boozy fun in the streets of Brasilia
Announcers: Adrian Healey, Alejandro Moreno
Watchability: 8/10, with an option for some tomfoolery when the intensity of the match yields some unfortunate intervention by the officials.
England vs. Uruguay - 3 p.m. ET, ESPN
Where: Arena Corinthians, Sao Paulo
What I'm watching England for: Tragedy is a given, but success may be the greatest shock of all. England should win this: they're fresher, not spitting bolts and screws like the aging Uruguayan team, and played pretty well despite the result in a loss against Italy.
What I'm watching Uruguay for: Signs that they aren't in serious decline. An uneven team with a wobbly back line would worry about facing a team with Sturridge, Sterling, Welbeck, and Rooney on the attack. Uruguay is a very uneven team at the moment, and is in fact facing those four men on the attack, and none of this is good for Uruguay's chances at moving out of group play. (Even if Luis Suarez plays and plays well for the first time this tourney.)
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Uruguay v. England ![]()
Intangibles: "England at the World Cup," Luis Suarez diving for cards, Luis Suarez just pissing everyone off, the usual distractions provided by Diego Forlan's unearthly male beauty.
Announcers: Ian Darke and Steve McManaman and a holographic Winston Churchill muttering about blood, sweat, tears, and maybe going out in group play again, chaps.
Watchability: 7/10, a solid piece of potential fluky tragicomedy that could fall on either team with a dramatic and fatal thunking noise.
Japan vs. Greece - 6 p.m. ET, ESPN
Where: Estadio das Dunas
What I'm watching Japan for: A rebound after an uncharacteristically conservative performance against Côte d'Ivoire. Despite what you saw in their opening match, Japan like to press and disrupt opposing attacks. Greece has zero opposing attack, so Japan has nothing in the way of standing and delivering in front of goal for ninety minutes.
What I'm watching Greece for: I'm not watching Greece, the most stultifying, negative team at this tournament. Light 'em up, Japan, and drive this curse from before our sleepy eyes.
Intangibles: Greece are bad and you should not watch them. That's not an intangible, but I wanted to say it again for emphasis.
Announcers: Daniel Mann, Efan Ekoku
Watchability: 2/10 unless you are a masochist, and want to watch Greece struggle after conceding a few early goals to Japan.