Brazil, Nigeria and Switzerland win in thrilling fashion

Harry Kane and England will be back in action on Sunday. Matthias Hangst/Getty Images

Friday was a continuation of the spectacle that has been this FIFA World Cup, with thrilling matches in unexpected fashion. Neymar was among the stars that joined the scoring charts as we continue to see a tournament without a scoreless result.

Brazil 2-0 Costa Rica

Saint Petersburg Stadium, St Petersburg

Attendance: 64,468

Both sides came into this one looking for their first win as Brazil would look to inch closer to qualification and Costa Rica would play to stave off elimination. Costa Rica’s best opportunity would come in the 13th minute from a long range attempt by Celso Borges. Los Ticos would only generate three opportunities, none of those on goal, in the first half - a far cry from the Cinderella team at the 2014 World Cup. Brazil would generate seven opportunities, sprinkled around the likes of Neymar and Gabriel Jesus, but the first half would end scoreless.

In the second half, Brazil was far away the more attacking side. Costa Rica would need a goalkeeper of the caliber of Real Madrid’s Keylor Navas to generate six saves in the second half against a bombardment from Brazil’s talented attacking corps. Costa Rica would only put up one shot during the half, defending for the most part and keeping it scoreless until the 90th minute. In stoppage time is when Costa Rica would come undone as tired legs could not hold back the constant urgency in Brazil’s attack. Philippe Coutinho broke through in the 91st minute and refusing to settle for the narrow win, Neymar would score Brazil’s second in the 97th minute.

Analysis: Brazil looked dangerous throughout 90 minutes and more to show why they are the odds on favorite to win the tournament. If they play with the confidence and determination shown today, there may not be any team that could stop them. In hindsight, the competition didn’t do much on attack so it is yet to be seen how they would react to a high-powered offense. Despite that, there are few teams in this tournament who can tango with Brazil. For Costa Rica, this is a bitter defeat after the successful 2014 campaign. The only thing left is to finish off strong and send their fans off with a win.

Notable stat: Neymar now stands alone as Brazil’s third all-time scorer behind the legendary Ronaldo (62) and Pele (77) after scoring against Costa Rica.

Nigeria 2-0 Iceland

Volgograd Arena, Volgograd

Attendance: 40,904

Fans of Nigeria, Iceland and Argentina (or just Messi enthusiasts) would be tuned in to this match because of the implications in Group D after Argentina’s 3-0 loss against Croatia. Nigeria would be looking to win to stay alive while Iceland would want to build a dream run into the knockout round. Iceland would generate six opportunities in the half, their best coming off set pieces, while Nigeria would register no attempts. It end nil-nil at halftime.

Needing the result, Nigeria found it’s attacking spark in the second half. Ahmed Musa gave the Super Eagles a sigh of relief by opening his account in the 49th minute. He would be denied by the crossbar in the 74th minute but just over a minute later he would dribble through the Icelandic defenders to score Nigeria’s second. Iceland would have an opportunity to find their way back via a penalty call in the 80th minute but Gylfi Sigurdsson would miss the mark. Nigeria would hold on to pick up the three points, leaving the qualification to be decided on the final day with Argentina, Iceland and Nigeria all in contention.

Analysis: There will be plenty of drama next Tuesday when the group will be decided. In all likelihood, the second spot will come down to the match between Nigeria and Argentina. Nigeria needed this win, so that was accomplished, as did Argentina to be in as favorable a position to undo their bad form. Nigeria could advance with a draw so their destiny is essentially in their hands. Iceland can still advance with a win or draw against Croatia, which looks like a far more difficult task than what was in front of them today. Argentina need to win and hope the result of Iceland-Croatia favors them. My advice: get your popcorn ready.

Notable stat: Ahmed Musa became Nigeria’s top scorer in World Cups and the only Nigerian to score at two different editions.

Serbia 1-2 Switzerland

Kaliningrad Stadium, Kaliningrad

Attendance: 33,167

Thanks to the Brazil result over Costa Rica earlier in the day, Serbia would be looking to win and advance to the round of 16. Switzerland was looking to build on their 1-1 draw with Brazil, unable to clinch a spot into the next round or be eliminated. Each side would generate plenty of shots in the first half but Aleksandar Mitrovic didn’t wait long to open the scoring. The Serbian striker would head in a cross from Dusan Tadic in the 5th minute. The Swiss would press forward because of the deficit, keeping the Serbians in their own half at times, but would not be able to turn the tables. Halftime score would be 1-0 Serbia.

Switzerland came out and took the victory in the second half. Switzerland would double their offensive output while Serbia would do very little compared to their first half performance. The Swiss would need a marvelous goal to take the lead, provided by Granit Xhaka after hitting a spinning ball into goal in the 52nd minute. At 1-1, the momentum had changed towards La Nati. Xherdan Shaqiri was denied a potential goal of the tournament by the post in the 58th minute but would eventually score the game-winner in the 90th minute. Switzerland move up to second in the group, behind Brazil on goal difference, though both group berths remain up for grabs.

Analysis: This turned out to be one of the better games of the tournament and it was driven by the qualifying implications. Serbia missed a golden opportunity to be the first in the group to qualify and will now have to win against Brazil to advance. Switzerland put themselves in a great spot to move to the round of 16, needing only a draw against Costa Rica to clinch.

Notable stat: Switzerland became the first team at the 2018 FIFA World Cup with a come from behind win.

Upcoming Matches (All Times CT):

Saturday, June 23

7 a.m. - [Group G] Belgium vs. Tunisia (FOX, Telemundo)

10 a.m. - [Group F] South Korea vs. Mexico (FOX, Telemundo)

1 p.m. - [Group F] Germany vs. Sweden (FOX, Telemundo)

Sunday, June 24

7 a.m. - [Group G] England vs. Panama (FS1, Telemundo)

10 a.m. - [Group H] Japan vs. Senegal (FOX, Telemundo)

1 p.m. - [Group H] Poland vs. Colombia (FOX, Telemundo)

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The Longhorns host Georgia on Saturday night. Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images.

By any measure, from the official statistics to the informal eye test, top-ranked Texas' defense has been dominant.

The Longhorns rank No. 1 in total defense and scoring defense. They are top 10 in first downs allowed, tackles for loss and passing yards. Much of that is built against opponents starting former walk-on quarterbacks ( Michigan ) and freshmen ( Mississippi State and Oklahoma.)

But the level of quarterback play Texas will face, in both talent and experience, is about to get much better over the second half of the season.

Texas hosts No. 5 Georgia on Saturday night in the first matchup of top five teams in Austin since 2006, before playing the next week at Vanderbilt. Bulldogs senior Carson Beck was a preseason first team Associated Press All-America pick, and standout Vanderbilt transfer Diego Pavia has carried the Commodores to a surprising 4-2 start, including a historic win over then-No. 1 Alabama.

Quite simply, Texas hasn't defended this caliber of quarterback all season.

Beck is a player on the doorstep of the NFL, Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said.

“There's nothing in the throw game (Beck) can't do,” Sarkisian said. “He's played enough football now, too. It's kind of hard to confuse guys when they've played that much football.”

Texas (6-0, 2-0 SEC) has allowed just one team to pass for more than 200 yards this season. Beck passed for 459 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions last week in a 41-31 win over Mississippi State. His 36 completions set a Georgia record.

Even when Beck struggled early in Georgia's loss to Alabama, he rallied the Bulldogs to a late fourth-quarter lead. He finished with 439 yards in the loss where Georgia's rally ended with an Alabama interception in the end zone in the final minute.

Sarkisian recruited Beck when the Texas coach was an assistant at Alabama. Beck had initially committed to the Crimson Tide before switching to Georgia.

Beck is 18-2 in his career as a starter, and 6-2 against top 20 opponents.

The Bulldogs (5-1, 3-1) will need another exceptional game from him Saturday. A second SEC loss could threaten any chance of playing for the SEC championship, and raise the alarms on the College Football Playoff as well.

Texas has all but overwhelmed opposing quarterbacks so far.

In last week's 34-3 thrashing of rival Oklahoma, the Longhorns sacked Sooners freshman quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. five times, and held him to 27 yards on 20 carries. Texas allowed just 225 total yards.

Hawkins was the first Sooners freshman to start at quarterback against the Longhorns in the 120-year history of the rivalry and was quickly swallowed up by a relentless pass rush.

By the numbers, the Longhorns program is on pace for a historic season. Sarkisian has said his favorite stat is points allowed, which is not many.

Texas has surrendered only three touchdowns all season. Opponents have snatched four turnovers inside Texas territory, but none have produced points.

That ability to snuff momentum can drain an opponent, Sarkisian said.

“We're so composed as a defense,” Texas safety Michael Taaffe said. “We're so confident, that no matter what happens, everything is going to be alright.”

The only time Texas has trailed this season was a 3-0 early deficit against Oklahoma. Several Longhorns starters were still on the field when the Sooners' final drive stalled at the Texas 6-yard-line as the game ended.

The stars emerging for the Longhorns have been second-year linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. and freshman edge rusher Colin Simmons.

Hill leads the team in total tackles (42), sacks (4 1/2) and tackles for loss (8 1/2). His sideline-to-sideline speed and move this season from the edge to the middle of the Texas defense has drawn comparisons to former Longhorns All-American Derrick Johnson 20 years ago.

Simmons has four sacks and 7 1/2 tackles for losses, second on the team in both categories.

“Size, speed,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said in summing up the Texas defense.

“They’re the complete package on defense," Smart said. "The consistency you watch them play with, it reminds me of some of our best teams here.”By any measure, from the official statistics to the informal eye test, top-ranked Texas' defense has been dominant.