There are some tasty World Cup fixtures to look forward to on day nine of the tournament.
Brazil vs Costa Rica will kick off proceedings in Group E at 1 pm before we turn our attention to the Group D clash between Nigeria and Iceland at 4 pm. An all-European Group E affair between Serbia and Switzerland will provide the evening kick-off at 7 pm.
Once again, RTE 2 will be showing each game live. ITV will be broadcasting the early kick-off between Brazil and Costa Rica from Saint Petersburg Stadium. Meanwhile, BBC One will be showing both evening games. Their coverage starts at 3:30 pm for the build-up to Nigeria vs Iceland at the Volgograd Arena.
Punditry lineup
RTE 2 – Darragh Maloney will begin the day with Liam Brady, Michael O’Neill and Richie Sadlier in the studio with commentary by Adrian Eames and Jim Beglin for day nine’s opener in Saint Petersburg.
Hugh Cahill and Brian Kerr will provide commentary for the only Group D fixture of the day.
In the evening game, Peter Collins will be joined by Kevin Doyle and Keith Andrews in the studio. George Hamilton and Ronnie Whelan will be in the commentary booth.
ITV – Mark Pougatch will present the early kick-off. Martin O’Neill, Roy Keane and Patrice Evra. Glenn Hoddle and Clyde Tyldesley will be in the booth
BBC – Mark Chapman will lead proceedings in the 4 o’clock kick-off. Jermaine Jenas, Danny Murphy and Didier Drogba will provide the analysis while the commentary team will be Guy Mowbray and Martin Keown.
Gary Lineker will be back in the studio for Switzerland vs Serbia. He will be joined by Rio Ferdinand, Frank Lampard and Pablo Zabaleta. The commentators for the game will be Simon Brotherton and Kevin Kilbane.
Group standings (prior to kick-off)
Top goalscorers (prior to kick-off)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) 4
Denis Cheryshev (Russia) 3
Diego Costa (Spain) 3
Artem Dzyuba (Russia) 2
Mile Jedinak (Australia) 2
Harry Kane (England) 2
Romelu Lukaku (Belgium) 2
Luka Modric (Croatia) 2
