World Cup warm up: The permutations ahead of Group E’s conclusion on Wednesday

By the time the final round of matches start in Group E on Wednesday night, they will already know their potential opponents for the round of 16 matches at the 2018 World Cup.

If results go as expected, the winner of Group E will face runners-up in Group F, which looks likely to be reigning champions Germany, and second place in Group E will encounter the winner of Group F, which should be Mexico.

It throws up an interesting dilemma for the Brazil, Switzerland and Serbia in Group E, who all have a chance of advancing from to the knockout phase on Wednesday night. Brazil go into the last round of matches top and only need a point from a potential banana-skin fixture against Serbia to qualify.

Team news and odds in our match preview

A point would guarantee a top-two finish but may only be good enough to go through in second, meaning Switzerland could top the group with a win over Costa Rica, who have already been eliminated.

Finishing second would not be a bad thing for Brazil if they avoid Germany in the next round. The last time these two international heavyweights faced off in the World Cup ended in Germany thrashing Brazil 7-1 on their way to the trophy four years ago.

Brazil could even lose to Serbia and still go through in second, but would require Switzerland losing to Costa Rica by the same margin or greater. Given Costa Rica’s recent performances, that seems unlikely.

It’s a dangerous game trying to play the system and Tite’s side will surely go for all three points against Serbia. Switzerland only need a point as it is to qualify for the next round, but they could even afford a shock defeat to Costa Rica and still qualify in this instance.

Team news and odds in our match preview

A defeat for Switzerland and a draw for Serbia would result in second place being awarded to the team that have scored the most goals, while an identical record between the two sides would give Switzerland the advantage due to their superior head-to-head record. 

Brazil and Switzerland are expected to advance from Group E, but Serbia have the talent to cause an upset. It will also be fascinating to see in which order the top-two progress as reigning champions Germany could await the winners of the group.

Writer Predictions:

Martin Laurence – Serbia 1-1 Brazil & Switzerland 1-0 Costa Rica

Ben McAleer – Serbia 1-2 & Switzerland 2-1 Costa Rica

Josh Wright – Serbia 1-3 Brazil & Switzerland 2-0 Costa Rica