2018 World Cup Day 14 Betting Review (June 27)

To say that Wednesday’s World Cup action from Russia was historic may be the understatement of the week. Mexico had Jesus Gallardo earn the fastest yellow card in the history of the World Cup finals — and Germany failed to advance to the round of 16 for the first time since 1938. That’s right, for the first time in 80 years, Germany will not make it out of group play, thanks to a 2-0 humiliation at the hands of South Korea. Let’s look at the aftermath of the four matches from today, as Groups E and F saw their round robin action end. Mexico, Sweden, Brazil and Switzerland will move on from these two groups, so consider their fortunes as you plan your 2018 World Cup betting for the round of 16.

2018 World Cup Day 14 Betting Review (June 27)

The #WorldCup knockout stages in Russia will be missing #GER, a side that has been omnipresent in them since 1954. Here’s a breakdown on one of the first real favourites’ eliminationhttps://t.co/ePqurUaLuh

— FIFA World Cup 🏆 (@FIFAWorldCup) June 28, 2018

Group F: South Korea 2, Germany 0

Germany’s exit from the World Cup marks the third time in the last four World Cup that the defending champions failed to make it out of group play. Their match with South Korea began as expected, as Germany needed to win in order to advance, and so they put on the pressure, with South Korea resisting and looking for chances on the counter. Koo Jacheol had a terrific free kick that German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer bobbled, but he was able to react in time to keep the juicy rebound away from Son Heungmin. Leon Goretzka almost scored for Germany after the intermission, but Jo Hyeonwoo kept his header out of the net. Matters went into extra time in the second half still in a scoreless draw, but then Kim Younggwon found the back of the net on a goal that was added after an offsides call was waved off via VAR, and then Son finished the scoring into an empty net as Neuer was pushing up the field to add pressure. So both of these teams go home, but South Korea leaves with an historic win, while Germany has gone from being a team with heralded talent to the last-place team in Group F.

Group F: Sweden 3, Mexico 0

Mexico’s fans were ashen when Sweden swiftly built a 3-0 lead — but then when South Korea scored in extra time to beat Germany, the mood shifted dramatically as that meant that Mexico’s advancement was assured. Sweden played an uncharacteristically aggressive style, but it still took them into the second half to break down the Mexican defense, as Ludwig Augustinsson scored at the 50th minute on the back post. Then Andreas Granqvist converted a spot kick, and Edson Alvarez clanked in an own goal with his hand as a cross seemed to have found its way through harmlessly. Late pressure from Mexico was not enough, and now Sweden enters the round of 16 with real momentum after giving up that late goal to Germany a match ago.

Group E: Brazil 2, Serbia 0

Brazil needed a win over Serbia to ensure their own advancement and knock out Serbia, and they got it. They used the same lineup that delivered the 2-0 win over Costa Rica, and they got offensive results much more quickly this time, as Paulinho found the net in the 36th minute, taking a pass from Philippe Coutinho past the Serbian goalkeeper. Serbia had some late chances, but Thiago Silva put a header into the net in the 68th minute, and that was all the scoring. Brazil looked steadier than they had in their first two group matches, and winning the group gives them an edge up in the next round, with Mexico coming next.

Group E: Switzerland 2, Costa Rica 2

A match after a gutsy late win against Serbia, Switzerland blew a chance to win the group by allowing a draw with Costa Rica. Josip Drmic scored for the Swiss in the 88th minute, but then Switzerland conceded a penalty in stoppage time. The Swiss actually had two leads in this game, as Blerim Dzemaili gave them a 1-0 lead in the 31st minute, but Costa Rica came back to make the game level twice, their only goals in these World Cup Finals. Switzerland will now face Sweden in the round of 16 — and they will do it without captain Stephan Lichtsteiner, who got a second yellow card, which leads to a one-game suspension.