Italy vs. Costa Rica (12 p.m. ET)
Where: Arena Pernambuco, Recife
What I'm watching Italy for: Pirlo's beard, the same thing everyone else watches Italy for. It would be nice to see Italy firm up the defense a bit especially since they're going to be facing the Ticos' Joel Campbell up front, but it's hard to be overly worried about the talented Azzurri at this point. (Now that we've written that, go watch Campbell get a hat trick today.) Ooh, and Buffon's back in goal!
What I'm watching Costa Rica for: Theft, since drawing Italy here and stealing a point would further improve their chances of advancing out of Group D. And eliminate England.
Intangibles: Pirlo's beard, which has both a tangible and spiritual component to it.
Announcers: Derek Rae, Kasey Keller
Watchability: 7/10, provided Italy doesn't park any buses on an early lead.
Switzerland vs. France (3 p.m. ET)
Where: Arena Fonte Nova, Salvador
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What I'm watching Switzerland for: A continued streak of tenacity after seizing a win late against Ecuador, which is the nice way of saying that Switzerland can't score consistently and got very lucky in their last game.
What I'm watching France for: A continued streak of not-imploding. France came into the tourney as a deep, talented team with a penchant for self-sabotage, and have thus far avoided it. They were playing Honduras in that last game, mind you, so we could just as easily witness LE LOL FRANCE here if the Swiss find a way to score. They're France: all things are possible, including inexplicable failure.
Intangibles: Switzerland threatening French players' hidden financial assets.
Announcers: Daniel Mann, Efan Ekoku
Watchability: 6/10, since the possibility of a draw always exists when you're playing Switzerland.
Honduras vs. Ecuador (6 p.m. ET)
Where: Arena da Baixada, Curitiba
What I'm watching Honduras for: Mmm, gritty failure. Honduras is endlessly tough, and that's about it for reasons to watch them since they're devoid of offense, and seem to be hoping for own goals as their primary source of scoring. This sounds way worse than we want it to: they're basically the Central American's Greece.
What I'm watching Ecuador for: A mental recovery after blowing a lead against Switzerland. That, too, sounds way worse than we wanted it to, but we repeat: you blew a lead against notoriously toothless Switzerland.
Intangibles: A stiff wind blowing an errant pass directly into goal for Honduras.
Announcers: Fernando Palomo, Alejandro Moreno
Watchability: 5/10, because it's Friday, mostly, and this seems like an agreeable enough game to watch while drinking beer.