Brazil: Germany and Argentina will aim to unleash their firepower on Ghana and Iran respectively as they return to centre stage on Saturday after opening their World Cup campaigns with wins.
Germany, who lead Group G after their impressive 4-0 victory over Portugal, face Ghana in the tropical heat of Fortaleza (Sunday 12am PST). The African side, beaten 2-1 by the United States, need to get something from the game to revive their campaign. After comfortably winning their opening matches at the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2008, three-time World Cup winners Germany were beaten in their second group matches at both tournaments – a trend coach Joachim Loew is aiming to stop on Saturday.
Argentina take their quest for a third World Cup to Belo Horizonte for a match against Iran in Group F (9pm PST).They had to work hard to beat Bosnia 2-1 in their opening match but should have less trouble against unfancied Iran, who held African champions Nigeria to a 0-0 draw. Keeping Argentina´s fearsome forward line of Sergio Aguero, Lionel Messi and Gonzalo Higuain, quiet will be a daunting prospect for Iran´s defence.
Nigeria, in their fifth World Cup, will aim to restore their pride against Bosnia in the other Group F match (Sunday 3am PST) in Cuiaba after a disappointing opening stalemate against Iran.