USA TODAY The final round of games in the group stage begins at the 2018 World Cup on Monday. Both Group A and Group B will be settled during simultaneous matches. Host nation Russia— one of the World Cup's surprise teams — plays Uruguay with first place in Group A on the line. Egypt and Saudi Arabia play in the other Group A match with nothing but bragging rights on the line. Portugal (vs. Iran) and Spain (vs. Morocco) could each advance with a win, a draw or a loss — depending what its rival does in the other match. Or they could knock out Iran and both move through. Monday's match could be the final game for Mohamed Salah with the Egyptian national team. Must-read stories World Cup power rankings:Updates after every match 2018 World Cup:Qualifying scenarios for every team Rogers:Why Messi hates playing for Argentina in World Cup VAR is a joke:It's making the World Cup worse Too many goals? England messed up against Panama World Cup:Every champion | Greatest moments | Craziest moments 2018 World Cup:Complete schedule of games, how to watch<doc-sep>We have another big three group clashes coming up Another day, another round of World Cup games. Bliss. talkSPORT is covering the tournament all day and all night, with more than 800 hours of content and live commentary of every single match. 4 The Spartak Stadium in Moscow There are three crunch group clashes today. Here’s all the details… What times are the World Cup kick-offs today? First up at 1pm is Denmark v Australia in Group C. The Danes beat Peru 1-0 in their opening game, while the Aussies lost 2-1 to France in controversial fashion. A Denmark win will see them progress to the knockout stages with a match to spare and send the Socceroos home. Full match preview here. 4 Australia are in a relaxed mood ahead of the Denmark clash Next up, at 4pm, the other Group C clash between France and Peru. Peru, competing in their first World Cup finals since 1982, are battling to stay in the competition and must avoid defeat to stay in with a chance of qualification having been beaten by Denmark in their opening match. France will be through to the last 16 if they win and Australia draw or lose. Full match preview here. 4 Paul Pogba celebrates France’s winner against Australia Finally, at 7pm, Argentina and Croatia round off the day’s action with a huge Group D showdown. Lionel Messi missed a penalty in the opening game as Argentina could only draw with Iceland, making this a must-win for the South Americans. Croatia were comfortable winners over Nigeria in their first match and will qualify for the last 16 if they triumph. Full match preview here. 4 Lionel Messi missed a penalty for Argentina against Iceland How can I follow the matches? Easy. Stick it on talkSPORT here, as the team will bring you all the action LIVE from Russia. talkSPORT will be with listeners all day and all night at this year’s 2018 FIFA World Cup with more than 800 hours of World Cup content and all 64 games live across the talkSPORT and talkSPORT 2.<doc-sep>USA TODAY After a shocking 2018 World Cup opening round defeat to Mexico, Germany gets a shot at redemption against Sweden. Will the defending World Cup champions follow Brazil's lead in righting the ship after a rough start, or will Germany keep company with Argentina — its 2014 World Cup final opponent — in needing help in the third round of group stage games in order to advance? While Sweden could pose a challenge to Germany, the team might be shorthanded due to illness and injury. Mexico — which is riding a wave of momentum after Sunday's huge upset —-- will look to avoid the dreaded letdown game when it takes on South Korea. Belgium, which is one of the rare top-rated teams with an emphatic opening-round victory, helps kick off Saturday's play against Tunisia. Must-read stories World Cup power rankings:Updated after every match World Cup makes it official:Ronaldo is greater than Messi Sex at the World Cup:Some countries only let their players score *on* the field Road to redemption:Neymar breaks down after Brazil grabs late win World Cup:Every champion | Greatest moments | Craziest moments 2018 World Cup:Complete schedule of games, how to watch<doc-sep>The second round of World Cup group matches continues on Saturday - with the pressure on champions Germany. Joachim Low's side suffered a shock opening defeat to Mexico and must make amends against Sweden to stay on course for the knockout stages, while England will take note of Group G rivals Belgium's match against Tunisia. Each morning during the tournament we will bring you an overview of what is coming up that day. Here is what you can expect on the second Saturday of the 2018 World Cup… World Cup fixtures World Cup venues Image: Hirving Lozano gave Mexico a 1-0 win against Germany in their opening game Who's playing today? Belgium v Tunisia (Group G) - Moscow (Spartak), 1pm South Korea v Mexico (Group F) - Rostov-on-Don, 4pm Germany v Sweden (Group F) - Sochi, 7pm What's the deal? The pre-tournament talk in Germany focused on the country's bid to become the first team for 56 years to retain the World Cup but after a shock 1-0 defeat to Mexico, the four-time winners must beat Sweden to be sure of staying in the tournament. Forward Thomas Muller admitted his team-mates might have taken Mexico "too lightly," while goalkeeper Manuel Neuer revealed "frank words" were said. But when a Swedish reporter offered Sami Khedira a mocked-up ticket home for the German squad, the midfielder fired back: "I think we'll only need that on July 16." Low's squad still believe, then - but Germany expects. Elsewhere, Mexico can close in on the knockout stages with victory against South Korea and Belgium can follow suit in Group G with a win over a Tunisia side that England saw off in injury-time. Belgium and England meet in the final round of group fixtures, but with goal difference potentially deciding the group winner, Gareth Southgate will have a close eye on this one. Three to watch Eden Hazard: The Belgium captain is the creative centre for his country in a similar way to how he is perceived at Chelsea. On his day, Hazard can bamboozle even the best defender with his pace and skill, and frequently picks out team-mates in the smallest of spaces. He nabbed an assist for Romelu Lukaku's second goal against Panama and Tunisia will surely be looking to restrict him. 3:00 Take a look at Mexico winger Hirving Lozano's best moments for PSV last season Hirving Lozano: In one of the best games of the tournament so far, Lozano scored a superb goal to inflict defeat on Germany, and will no doubt be in the middle of the action once again when Mexico take on South Korea. He is a brilliant talent and at just 22 years old, offers a very exciting prospect for the future of Mexico's national team. Heung-min Son: Much of South Korea's hopes for a successful World Cup campaign lie on the shoulders of Son - think Lionel Messi for Argentina. They have two tough games against Mexico and Germany to come, but the talent Son has shown for Tottenham can give the country a reason to be hopeful of a last 16 spot. Also look out for... Sickly Swedes Sweden have been hit with a stomach bug ahead of the game in Sochi, with Pontus Jansson, Filip Helander and Marcus Rohden staying behind at the training base although they are expected to travel to the game on Saturday morning. Image: The Sweden squad have been hit with a sickness bug ahead of their game against Germany "We have split the squad. We didn't bring them on the flight because we didn't know what had made them feel a bit queasy, but they will travel tomorrow," Andersson said at a press conference at Sochi's Fisht Stadium on Friday. Sweden's team doctor said in a statement on the official Swedish FA website that the trio were "on the mend". Lukaku to make history? Romelu Lukaku scored twice for Belgium against Panama, putting himself in contention for the competition's Golden Boot and he can make some history if he finds the net again on Saturday. Only Jan Ceulemans (6) has scored more goals in major international tournaments for Belgium than Romelu Lukaku (5, level with Marc Wilmots). Image: Romelu Lukaku scored twice for Belgium on Monday Therefore, another double from the Manchester United striker would make him Belgium's leading scorer at both the World Cup and European Championships at the age of just 25. What are England doing? England will train in Repino on Saturday morning before flying to Nizhny Novgorod from St Petersburg in the afternoon, ahead of Sunday's clash with Panama. A media conference with Gareth Southgate and one of his squad is scheduled for 3.45pm. Stat of the day Image: Thomas Muller was ineffective in Germany's opening defeat Germany's Thomas Muller has scored 10 goals from just 14 shots on target at the World Cup but he was the only outfield Germany player to not register a single shot in their defeat to Mexico. In fact, he has not had a shot in his last 239 minutes of World Cup football. On this day A low point for Scotland. A 3-0 defeat against Morocco saw them finish bottom of their group at the 1998 World Cup finals in France. It was the eighth time in their eight appearances in the World Cup finals that they have failed to progress to the knock-out stages.<doc-sep>
FIFA World Cup 2018 started with a bang as hosts Russia thrashed Saudi Arabia 5-0 in Moscow. Every team has played at least 1 match by now and we’re already in the World Cup groove. With Portugal and Spain's 3-3 thriller to Mexico's win over defending champions Germany, the World Cup has given us plenty to talk about already. Argentina drew with Iceland despite recording the most attempts by a team in a single match of this world cup. Lionel Messi failed to score from the penalty spot meaning Argentina couldn’t go past Iceland. The draw was disappointing for the two times world cup winners with the number of chances they had to put the game to bed. Brazil started their match on high versus Switzerland with a classic Coutinho goal from outside the box but Steven Zuber equalized in the 50th minute to spoil the Brazilian party. Elsewhere, England won in a dramatic fashion against Tunisia with Harry Kane scoring in the 91st minute to take 3 points for his team. But with so many top teams failing to win their first match, their fans are anxious knowing the importance of starting out the tournament with a victory. Every point counts in the group stage and all these teams will be thinking about these dropped points right now. But it isn’t just about the points. Confidence rides on victories and shock defeats really dampen a team’s confidence. In 3 out of previous 4 World Cups, the defending champions crashed out in the group stage and one thing which was common between all of them was their inability to win their first group stage match. Germany will hope to avoid being part of that list despite losing opening fixture to Mexico. Despite history not favouring them, there still is something to count on for their fans as in the past, there have been 3 times when a team managed to lift the World Cup despite not winning their opening game. The numbers aren’t encouraging but still where there's a will there’s a way. Here are the 3 world cup triumphs accomplished despite failing to win their opening fixture. England in 1966 The only time English team won the world cup was in 1966. Over the years England have been amongst the favourites on many occasions but failed to live up to the hype. Many people believe the golden generation comprising of David Beckham, Paul schools, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerard, Wayne Rooney the list continues should have had some success at the FIFA world cup. But quarterfinals is the best England have managed for the past 20 years. The 1966 World Cup was hosted in England with 16 teams participating for the finals. England, West Germany, Portugal and Soviet Union reached the semi-finals where England defeated Portugal 2-1 and West Germany prevailed over the Soviet Union with a similar scoreline to set up a monumental final. England vs West Germany was a memorable final with Geoff Hurst scoring twice in extra time to make England the champions of the world. Hurst scored a hat-trick in the final which is the only time a hat-trick was scored in the final of a World Cup. This was the first time a team had won a World Cup despite not winning its first match. England squared off against Uruguay in their opening fixture which ended in a draw. England also became just the third nation to win the World Cup in their own country after Uruguay in 1930 and Italy in 1934. This to date remains England's best footballing memory. 1 / 3 NEXT