World Cup 2022: What to expect on Day 13

Day 13 at the World Cup – the final day of the group stages with qualification and a hearty dose of revenge up for grabs.

Portugal and Brazil have already secured their passage into the final 16 but all six other teams across Group G and Group H go into their fixtures with the mathematical possibility of progressing.

It's Group H where we start and where Ghana go in search of revenge against Uruguay.

A draw will be enough for the Ghanaians to secure runners-up spot in the group behind Portugal regardless of the outcome in the other game, while Uruguay need to win and hope that South Korea don’t beat Portugal.

Goal difference looks likely to a factor on a day where things can change rapidly.

Should Korea manage to beat Portugal and Uruguay win by a single goal, both the Uruguayans and Ghana would exit the tournament.

Uruguay need to win by at least two goals and hope that the Koreans are unable to take anything from their game with Portugal. Still with us?

There's already enough on the line at the Al Janoub Stadium but for Ghana it’s also a massive grudge match, with memories of their 2010 World Cup quarter-final defeat to Uruguay still at the forefront of their minds.

In the dying seconds of that semi-final clash Luis Suarez infamously handled Dominic Adiyiah's header on the goal-line, slapping the ball away with his hands. The referee produced a red card and awarded a penalty to the Ghanaians, but with the final kick of the game Asamoah Gyan slammed his spot-kick off the crossbar and Uruguay went on to win the penalty shootout.

Suarez’s 'hand of God’ tribute is viewed in Ghana as Thierry Henry’s is here, albeit playing the role of the pantomime villain comes far more naturally to Suarez who doesn’t appear to be in the mood to kiss and make up.

"I don't apologise for that," said an unrepentant Suarez when asked about the 2010 incident. "I take the handball. But the Ghana player missed the penalty. Not me."

He has a point of course, but it’s unlikely to endear him towards the Ghanaian supporters.

There’s far less narrative skulduggery in the other Group H encounter with Portugal already assured of their progress and needing only a draw against South Korea to guarantee that they’ll finish top of the group.

The Portuguese will be favourites to claim their third win on the bounce but while an upset is unlikely, Korean manager Paulo Bento knows what it takes to beat Portugal, having spent four years in charge on his home country.

Bento will be absent from the touchline having been shown a red card by Anthony Taylor, for confronting the Premier League referee after his side’s 3-2 defeat to Ghana.

The former Portuguese midfielder ended his international playing days with a shock World Cup defeat to South Korea at the 2002 World Cup, and 20 years on, he’s hoping for a similarly seismic result.

"For the Portugal match I think we do need luck but we have nowhere else to go but forward and this is our last resort," he said. "Under the circumstances all we can create is a miracle at the moment."

Proceedings should be slightly more in Group G where Cameroon take on the already qualified Brazil while Switzerland and Serbia meet in the group’s other game.

The Swiss go into the final round of games in second place on three points with a point apiece for Serbia and Cameroon, which means that a win would be enough for Switzerland to progress, while a draw would likely see them through too.

Only a win will do for Serbia. They have to get the victory against Switzerland and hope that Brazil do them a favour against Cameroon. Meanwhile, The Indomitable Lions need a shock victory over Brazil and a draw in the other game or for Serbia to win but not by a bigger margin than them.

Brazil look likely to rest players against Cameroon and manager Tite confirmed that the 39-year-old Dani Alves will wear the captain’s armband, making him their oldest World Cup captain.

"We have played two matches with two different teams and now we play the third match with a completely different team," said Tite.

"We’ll make a few changes, we’ll include keys players. In two games we used 19 players. We do not call them starting players or reserves. They are all players."

Cameroon meanwhile must be wondering how they’re still in with a chance of progressing. Losing their first game to Switzerland before rallying from 3-1 down against Serbia to draw 3-3, it’s been a tough campaign for the African side thus far.

Internal strife within their squad hasn’t helped either and manager Rigobert Song has sent home Andre Onana after a row with the goalkeeper.

Onana, who was dropped for the Serbian game, was removed from the squad entirely after a reported row with Song and despite peace talks which involved Cameroon legend Samuel Eto'o, the player has left Qatar.

Song admits that his side are up against it at the Lusail Iconic Stadium and he isn’t holding out much hope of a weakened Brazilian side losing their focus.

"We aren’t worrying about what they’re going to bring to the game, it’s about what we bring to the game," he said.

"We know they’re a very strong team, but if we think about that and concentrate on them – are they going to shake up their squad? Are they going to rotate positions? I don’t really care about what they’re going to do, it’s about us. We are preparing as if we’re playing a final."

Serbia and Switzerland round out the group in the repeat of a tie that caused political controversy at the 2018 World Cup.

Swiss skipper Granit Xhaka and midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri were key figures - both with their goals and celebrations - when the Swiss beat Serbia 2-1 in the group stage in Russia.

Xhaka, born to ethnic Albanian parents from Kosovo, and Kosovo-born Shaqiri both made reference to the Albanian nationalist symbol of a double-headed eagle in their celebrations in that game.

Serbia have already been censured by FIFA in Qatar after a flag which showed Kosovo as part of their country was allegedly hung in the dressing room when they faced Brazil. Tensions look set to run high in Qatar and with Brazil expected to beat Cameroon, qualification is in the balance.

Serbia coach Dragan Stojkovic has confirmed that Dusan Vlahovic is fit but played it coy when asked whether he would start.

Aleksandar Mitrovic has played the role of the lone striker to mixed success is his side's first two group games and with only a win being good enough, Stojkovic may throw caution to the wind.

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