Your daily World Cup tip sheet for who's playing when, and what to watch for. We'll deliver a new briefing the evening before every game day, highlighting the can't-miss match and which players to watch.
Match of the day: Switzerland vs. France
The Swiss cruised through their qualifying group, but
don’t seem to be anyone’s pick to do much in Brazil despite
their No. 6 world ranking by FIFA. That could be because
they're a very young side, led by Bayern Munich attacking
midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri and Basel defender Fabian Schar.
They barely scraped by Ecuador in their opener, so they’ll
be looking for a much more complete effort in this match.
France is at the tournament without star winger Franck
Ribery (Bayern Munich) who pulled out with a wonky back. He
wasn’t missed in an easy 3-0 win over Honduras in the
side’s first match, where Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema
paced the French attack with a pair of goals. Les Bleus
still have enough class to easily advance from this weak
group.
Player to watch: France’s Paul Pogba
A product of the Manchester United youth system, he left Old Trafford in 2012 to chase more first-team opportunities in Italy with Juventus, where he has been a revelation. Just 21, Pogba plays angry and is an impressive physical presence, comfortable either leading the attack or dropping deep to defend. He has already captained France to a title at the Under-20 World Cup. With Ribery missing, he will have an opportunity to establish himself as the leader of the next generation of Les Bleus.