2018 World Cup Group Stage Rundown: Group E

Group E was a stubborn group.

Brazil, like many predicted, finished top of the group. Switzerland finished in second place and Serbia in third, following Serbia’s 2-0 loss to Brazil in the group finale. Costa Rica, 2014 dark horses and quarterfinalists, finished in last place and return home humiliated.

Following their 7-1 semi-final embarrassment to Germany in 2014, Brazil were keen to impress this time around and star player, Neymar, was eager to make something after regaining fitness in time to make the final 23-man squad.

Things did not kick off so well for Neymar and Brazil. In their opening match against Switzerland, the Swiss held the Brazilians to a 1-1 draw. Philippe Coutinho’s bending goal from out the box was really something of a beauty but the Brazilians found it tough to break the Swiss defense.

Neymar could not find the back of the net, most of the time finding difficulty even getting there because of the constant marking and fouling on him (ten of the games fouls were directed towards him, making him the most fouled World Cup player in 20 years). It was hard to believe no player walked off with a red card.

Critics came raining down on Brazil, questioning if this Brazil side even had what it takes to win it all.

Though Brazil did manage to pick up a 2-0 victory against Costa Rica— stoppage time goals courtesy of Neymar and Coutinho—there were still questions of the reliability of the Brazilian team.

Brazil was at risk of being eliminated in the group stage. They were ready to show their critics that they were still a strong force to be reckoned with at this tournament and they did.

Goals from Paulinho and Thiago Silva in a 2-0 win against Serbia ensured Brazil’s qualification, as well as first place in the group, to the Round of 16

What a dramatic World Cup the Swiss have had so far.

First, they held the Brazilians to a draw, thanks to a header from Steven Zuber early in the second half and a great performance from goalkeeper Yann Sommer.

An absolute rocket of a goal from Grant Xhaka and last minute strike from Xheridan Shaqiri saw the Swiss come back from behind in a 2-1 win.

They were caught off guard by an already eliminated Costa Rica, the final result being 2-2. Despite that, Serbia’s loss was enough to put them through to the knockout stages.

The Serbians kicked off their World Cup with a memorable 1-0 win against Costa Rica. Captain Aleksandar Kolarov scored the goal on a free kick, curling the ball around the wall and meeting the target just inside the near post, an almost impossible shot for Costa Rica’s star goalie, Keylor Navas, to get a hand on.

It was all downhill from there.

They got up ahead five minutes into their match against Switzerland after an Aleksandar Mitrovic header. Yet, the Swiss appeared more determined to pull off a positive result and after Xhaka’s wonder goal, the Serbians could not recover.

Their following match against Brazil was a must-win. Though their performance in the first half was unimpressive, their flurry of second-half chances was exciting to watch. Yet, not one chance gave Serbia the goals they were looking for and a goal from Thiago Silva in the 68th-minute busted Serbia’s momentum, ending their World Cup run at the final whistle.

Unremarkable could be a word used to describe Costa Rica’s 2018 World Cup.

Following their surprise quarterfinal run in 2014, Los Ticos grew a fan base unparalleled to anything they had seen before.

Goalkeeper Keylor Navas came into the limelight and caught the attention of global media after a string of incredible saves that kept Costa Rica alive in the previous World Cup. Navas even made the shortlist for the 2014 World Cup Golden Glove Award. Afterward, Real Madrid came knocking and signed the Costa Rican hero. So far, Navas has seen nothing but success with Los Galacticos.

With a confident goalkeeper like Navas in goal, Los Ticos were hoping to repeat their 2014 success.

Sadly, Russia 2018 was a World Cup of disappointment for Costa Rica.

They lost their opening match to Serbia after an incredible free kick from Kolarov. Navas put on a show against Brazil but in the end, could not hold through. Brazil put two in against Costa Rica in stoppage time, eliminating them.

Their final match against Switzerland would be nothing more than a consolation match for Costa Rica. A stoppage-time own goal from Swiss goalie, Sommer, gave Costa Ricans a little something to cheer about. The 2-2 draw against Switzerland assured Los Ticos went home with at least with one point in the group.

Brazil played North American rivals, Mexico, who were looking to end their run of consecutive eliminations in the Round of 16 on Monday, July 2 at 11:00 AM

Switzerland faced off against Sweden, who are fresh off a string of impressive performances thanks to their strong defensive play, on Tuesday, July 3 at 11:00 AM.