Two nations chasing World Cup glory will do battle today in a match between Russia and South Korea. The 2014 World Cup group-stage match scheduled for 6 p.m. ET will be held at the Arena Pantanal in Cuiaba and can be live streamed here free. A free Spanish language stream of the match can be found here. Free radio coverage can be found here. Additional TV coverage can be found on ESPN and ESPN Deportes.
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After being absent from each of the previous two World Cups, Russia returns the world's biggest stage with a point to prove. A poor record in recent years has seen the team fail to qualify for the Round of 16 in 1994 and 2002. Now, after comfortably qualifying from Europe, the 2018 World Cup hosts are in Brazil to reverse their fortunes.
"It's been 12 years since Russia have participated in the World Cup, so our objective is to play more than three games, try to qualify from our group and after that we will see," defender Vasilii Berezutskiy said (via FIFA). "For us, the next game is the most important one, so we're focusing on Korea," the 31-year-old added. "I think Belgium are the favorites because they have a young and quality team and can improve."
"[But] we have things to prove in this World Cup."
Will Russia begin its World Cup campaign with a positive result against South Korea? Tell us @SportsWN
Tactical Preview
Player to Watch: Ki Sung-Yueng is one of the few South Korean's in the English Premier League. The 25-year-old made 27 league appearances for Sunderland last season, showing a balanced approach in the central midfield. Sung-Yueng averaged 1.6 tackles and one key pass per match, but his ability to keep attackers in front of him (0.6 dribbles on) will be needed this evening.
Russia's Projected Lineup (4-3-3): Akinfeev; Kombarov, Ignashevich, Berezutski, Eshchenko; Shatov, Denisov, Fayzulin; Zhirkov, Kokorin, Samedov
South Korea's Projected Lineup (4-2-3-1): Sung-Ryong; Suk-Young, Young-Gwon, Jeong-Ho, Yong; Sung-Yueng, Kook-Young; Heung-Min, Ja-Cheol, Chung-Yong; Chu-Young
Note: Credit all statistics to officially licensed data from Opta Sports (via WhoScored)
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