Sporting director Stevan Stojanovic was frustrated by Serbia's lack of belief in their defeat to Brazil, but has backed them to bounce back against Cameroon.

Two second-half goals from Richarlison saw Brazil run out 2-0 winners in their World Cup Group G opener on Thursday with Serbia producing an uncharacteristically passive performance.

They have the chance to kick-start their campaign when they meet a Cameroon side smarting from a 1-0 defeat to Switzerland, and Stojanovic is demanding a more assertive display.

He told the Informer newspaper: "We analysed the game against Brazil and I think we respected them too much. It's okay to respect Brazil, you should, but it's not good to underestimate yourself.

"It seems to me that we surrendered at half-time. It was as if the players in the dressing room thought that they could do nothing against such a strong Brazil, so they immediately counted on having two more games in which we should look to qualify."

Cameroon will pose a different type of threat although Stojanovic was not overly impressed after watching their game against the Swiss, adding: "African teams are unpredictable, including Cameroon. They have a couple of fast players, they need to be paid attention to.

"Cameroon threatened in the first half, had two or three chances, but it was as if they did not know how to take those opportunities. I wouldn't say they were selfish, but rash. They have some wild cards and you can see that no match here at the World Cup is easy, but we know our quality."

If Serbia were disappointing in their opening display, the same can be said of Cameroon who were sunk by Breel Embolo's close-range goal.

The Indomitable Lions were hit by more bad news on Friday after it emerged midfielder Olivier Ntcham, who missed the Switzerland game, will also sit out their remaining two group games through injury.

Coach Rigobert Song was heavily criticised in the aftermath of Thursday's encounter but is remaining optimistic.

"There is no question, everything is still possible and we have not given up hope," he said. "But we know we are no longer able to make mistakes.

"We will play an all-out game without hesitation. I think the game against Serbia will be different."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Serbia - Dusan Vlahovic

Reduced to a substitute's role against Brazil with coach Dragan Stojkovic adopting a more cautious approach, Juventus forward Vlahovic is likely to start against Cameroon with Serbia needing to win.

Vlahovic has been a rare bright spark for Juve this season, scoring six goals in 10 Serie A appearances, and will form a physical strikeforce with Aleksandar Mitrovic.

Cameroon - Bryan Mbeumo

Cameroon will be hoping for more from Bryan Mbeumo. The Brentford attacker was a peripheral figure against Switzerland, contributing just one shot on target and three touches inside the opposition box.

This would be the ideal moment for Mbeumo to score his first international goal, as Cameroon are averaging just 0.8 goals per game at the World Cup (18 goals in 24 games), the lowest ratio of any nation to play at least 20 games in the tournament. 

PREDICTION

Serbia possess the greater attacking threat with the likes of Mitrovic, Vlahovic and Dusan Tadic, so they are fancied to win this one and get their qualification hopes back on track.

Stats Perform's AI model gives them a 56.3 per cent chance of emerging victorious with Cameroon's hopes rated at just 19.5 per cent. A draw comes in at 24.2 per cent, although that result would not really help either side.

Cristiano Ronaldo became a free agent earlier this week after mutually agreeing with Manchester United to terminate his contract.

Ronaldo's availability has prompted numerous clubs to weigh up moves for the five-time Ballon d'Or winner.

Brazilian giants Flamengo and Saudi Arabian powerhouse Al Hilal have been linked with Ronaldo in recent days.

AL NASSR OFFER LUCRATIVE DEAL TO FREE AGENT RONALDO

CBS claims Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr have offered Cristiano Ronaldo a three-year deal worth £186m.

The deal would see Ronaldo play into his 40s, with Al Nassr having resumed talks with his representatives having initiated them in the close season.

An unnamed Saudi Arabian club reportedly made an offer for the 37-year-old Portuguese prior to the start of this campaign.

Al Nassr are nine-time Saudi Arabian champions and ex-Lyon and Roma boss Rudi Garcia is their head coach.

ROUND-UP

-  Cody Gakpo and Milan's Rafael Leao are top of Erik ten Hag's wish list to replace Ronaldo at Manchester United in January, claims ESPN.

- Arsenal are set to beat Newcastle United to sign Shakhtar Donetsk midfielder Mykhailo Mudryk for approximately £40 million, reports The Mirror.

- Bayern Munich are the latest club to enter the race to sign West Ham's England international Declan Rice, according to El Nacional.

- Juventus are planning a move for Athletic Bilbao winger Nico Williams, reports AS. Williams is contracted with Athletic until 2024.

- Milan are keen on Salzburg forward Noah Okafor, with the Austrian club asking €35m for him, according to Calciomercato.

Rain stopped play once again in New Zealand and India's latest white-ball encounter, as the pair saw a no result declared in an abandoned second ODI in Hamilton.

The tourists posted 89-1 off 12.5 overs at Seddon Park before the umpires officially called time on the match amid worsening conditions.

In a game that had already seen a break before five overs thanks to rain, it is the second game of the pair's wider limited-overs series to be washed out by the weather, along with a drawn T20 encounter on DLS.

The result means New Zealand hold a 1-0 lead from the first ODI heading into Tuesday's final game at Hagley Oval in Christchurch.

Luke Shaw says England are extra motivated heading into their World Cup clash with Wales after their opponents wildly celebrated the Three Lions' exit from Euro 2016.

An infamous video circulated following England's embarrassing last-16 defeat to Iceland six and a half years ago showing Wales' players lapping up their fierce rivals' demise.

Wales surpassed expectations by making it to the semi-finals of that competition, despite losing to England in the group stage, but they have had less success at Qatar 2022.

The Dragons require a victory against England at Ahmed bin Ali Stadium if they are to avoid a group-stage exit and must hope the United States and Iran play out a draw elsewhere.

A four-goal win for Wales against their neighbours on Tuesday would also be enough, but they have not so much as avoided defeated against England in their past six meetings.

Shaw, who played a full part in England's 6-2 win over Iran and goalless draw with the USA, believes the scenes from 2016 will add more spice to an already feisty fixture.

"I think you could say that," Shaw said. "But our motivation in itself has to be at its highest level. We are at the World Cup. We have great aims for what we want to achieve.

"We have to have the maximum motivation at every game. I don't think there's any more motivation than what we have already. 

"It wasn't nice. I don't want to dwell too much on that. I want to focus on what we do on the pitch. We can say things in interviews and I'd rather do our talking on the pitch."

Asked if England's players would consider recording similar scenes of celebrating should they knock out Wales, Shaw said: "I think we are a respectful group.

"We do things in the right way. That's the example Gareth [Southgate] wants to set. We are fully behind that. We are fully respectful.

"I think their motivation is going to be extremely high. They are going to give everything to win. It's not an easy game. But we need to focus on what we do."

England will advance to the knockout stage if they avoid a heavy loss to Wales, though Southgate's side will be targeting a victory to make certain of top spot in Group B.

Speaking ahead of England's first ever World Cup match against a fellow British side, Southgate said: "We have got to play well. 

"We are going to play an opponent that is wounded and, like everybody else, desperate to beat the English. We've got to play an intelligent game, play well and match their spirit.

"I would be very disappointed if someone says their players will want it more than ours. I'd be asking questions about what we stand for and what we have been for five years."

England have lost their third and final group-stage game in just two of their 14 participations at the World Cup (W7 D5), doing so against Spain in 1950 and Belgium in 2018.

Carlos Queiroz has demanded Jurgen Klinsmann resign from his FIFA position after making a string of accusations about Iran's World Cup team, labelling the German's comments "a disgrace".

Iran head coach Queiroz reacted after his team were accused by Klinsmann of having "worked the referee" during the 2-0 win against Wales on Friday.

Working as a BBC pundit, Klinsmann suggested Iran getting to the match officials and pushing the boundaries of acceptability was "part of their culture".

In response, Queiroz suggested California-based Klinsmann's "outrageous remarks" stemmed from his "American/German" background.

He said Klinsmann should visit Iran's training camp to learn more about the team, but must step down from FIFA's World Cup technical study group beforehand.

Prompted about the conduct of Iran's players in the Wales game just staying on the right side of the game's laws, Klinsmann said: "That's their culture, that's their way of doing it, and that's why Carlos Queiroz, he fits really well the Iranian national team.

"He struggled in South America and failed with Colombia to qualify, and then he failed with Egypt to qualify as well, and he went back right before the World Cup and guided Iran, where he worked already for a long, long time.

"This is not by coincidence. This is just part of their culture, that's how they play it. They worked the referee. You saw the bench, always jumping up and always working the linesman and fourth referee on the sidelines, they are constantly in their ear.

"This is their culture; they make you lose your focus, make you lose your concentration and what's important to you."

Klinsmann said there could have been a "big difference with another referee" and added: "Let's say it did not play into the hands of Wales."

Queiroz responded on Saturday with a string of withering Twitter messages aimed at Klinsmann, who was a 1990 World Cup winner as a player with West Germany and later coach of Germany and the United States.

Queiroz began by saying: "Even not knowing me personally, you question my character with a typical prejudiced judgement of superiority.

"No matter how much I can respect what you did inside the pitch, those remarks about Iran culture, Iran national team and my players are a disgrace to football. Nobody can hurt our integrity if it is not at our level, of course.

"Even saying so, we would like to invite you as our guest, to come to our national team camp, socialise with Iran players and learn from them about the country, the people of Iran, the poets and art, the algebra, all the millennial Persian culture…

"And also listen from our players how much they love and respect football. As American/German, we understand your no support. No problem. And despite your outrageous remarks on BBC trying to undermine our efforts, sacrifices and skills, we promise you that we will not produce any judgements regarding your culture, roots and background and that you will always be welcome to our family.

"At the same time, we just want to follow with full attention what will be the decision of FIFA regarding your position as a member of Qatar 2022 technical study group.

"Because, obviously, we expect you to resign before you visit our camp."

This is former Manchester United assistant boss Queiroz's third consecutive World Cup as Iran boss. His short spells with Colombia and Egypt followed the 2018 tournament, with Queiroz leading Egypt to this year's Africa Cup of Nations final.

They were defeated in that game on penalties by Senegal, and Egypt also lost by the same method to the same opposition in a World Cup play-off, with Queiroz departing and returning to the helm with Iran in September.

Barcelona boss Xavi has revealed he was offered a role as part of Brazil's backroom team ahead of the World Cup, but turned it down to hold out for the top job with the Blaugrana.

The former Spain international succeeded Ronald Koeman last year in charge at Camp Nou, and has helped to revive fortunes at the Catalan side since his arrival.

Though his team have slipped into the Europa League for a second season running, they remain competitive in the domestic top-flight, sitting two points ahead of rivals Real Madrid at the World Cup break.

Xavi has revealed he was approached by Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) president Rogerio Caboclo over a role with the Selecao during his time in charge at Al Sadd, but that he turned them down to hold out for Barca.

"It was an opportunity [that came] through the president of the CBF," Xavi told ESPN. 

"They [came] to Qatar, and they talked to me, [and asked if] I could be part of Tite's staff.

"But I wanted to be a coach, not an assistant. My desire was to be a coach.

"It would be a tremendous opportunity - it was [a chance] to make history, to be the first European to work in the Brazilian national team.

"But, at that moment, it did not happen. I was clear that I wanted to be coach of Barcelona, ​​which was my dream, and here I am."

However, Xavi teased he would not rule out taking up the chance if it was offered again, adding: "You never know. It would be a spectacular opportunity.

"But my intention was to take over Barcelona. You never know about the future [though]. I'm working hard, and you can't rule anything out."

Ghosts everywhere. In the stands, where the spectre of Diego Maradona was waving his fists, wondering how Argentina could put in such a vapid performance.

On the pitch, where the shadows of Sergio Aguero and Gonzalo Higuain were sprinting through the middle, looking for a pass or clearing a path for Lionel Messi.

The ghosts of Argentina's past haunted them for large parts of Saturday's game against Mexico, as the present almost became a living nightmare.

Lionel Scaloni's team were in dire danger of heading out of this World Cup after two games, the champions of South America last year vulnerable to a humbling on the global stage, until a flash of Messi magic changed everything.

A swish of that left boot from 25 yards, and the ball zipped into the bottom-right corner. It had to be him.

On the night Messi matched Maradona's Argentina record of 21 World Cup appearances, he also moved level with El Diego on eight goals in his career at the finals, two behind national team record holder Gabriel Batistuta. For Messi, those World Cup goals have all come in the group stage, something he came to Qatar to change and still might.

Losing to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday was bad enough for Argentina, but at least there would be a reaction against the Mexicans. Perhaps it might be the spur they needed, and perhaps it could still be Messi's World Cup.

Those were theories that were widely voiced, yet for an hour they looked to be utter bunkum.

Even at 90 minutes, with a 2-0 scoreline barely reflecting the flow of the game, you were left fearing Argentina might find a way to trip up against Poland next time out. If they finish second in this group, it will almost certainly be France waiting for them in the second round, and on the evidence so far, Argentina would be mauled by Les Bleus.

Messi and Co arrived at this tournament on a 36-game unbeaten run, but such has been their languid start you would have been forgiven for guessing they played all 36 of those games in the last month.

Here they were off the pace from the start, lacking any obvious strategy, down on energy, praying for Messi to conjure something. It had an air of Barcelona in the final days of Ronald Koeman's reign about it.

Scaloni has backed Lautaro Martinez to be his lone striker, and there might have to be a rethink on that score. Martinez has a shot conversion rate of 12.9 per cent this season for Inter, which is not ideal for a striker, and has been finding the net at club level every 206.25 minutes.

He has Edin Dzeko up alongside him for the Nerazzurri, who has been more clinical with his chances, but with Argentina it is Martinez who leads the line ostensibly alone.

This team used to have an embarrassment of attacking riches, and they desperately miss prime era Higuain and Aguero.

Martinez has a strong scoring record for his country, but he was ineffective here, his second game at his first World Cup.

When a clear chance came his way in the 40th minute, after a fine cross from the right by Di Maria, he planted a header way off target. It was his one goal attempt. Argentina only had five shots all night, which was still one more than Mexico. Their combined total of shots is the fewest ever recorded in a World Cup, based on studies of matches going back as far as 1966.

There was a moment late in the first half that looked to be typifying Argentina's night: Mexico's Alexis Vega had a free-kick well saved by Emiliano Martinez shortly before half-time and Argentina went on the break, with Messi looking to dance down the right and make something happen.

Except, those feet don't dance as quickly as they once did, and the ball was soon swept into touch. At Paris Saint-Germain, with Neymar and Kylian Mbappe for company, the gradual decline of Messi is not quite so obvious. He can be a joy to behold in that company still, but when all the attention of defenders is on him, as it inevitably was this time, he was being too easily crowded out and barged off the ball.

In the second half, Erick Gutierrez hacked down Messi when he got close to the edge of the box and began to sprint, and Argentina had the chance they wanted. Messi punted it over the crossbar, and you just sensed it would not be his night.

And then Messi decided that, actually, yes it would be.

At the age of 35, he cannot win a World Cup by himself, but he can still come up with magical moments, and it was a goal for the career showreels, a stroke of familiar genius at the Lusail Iconic Stadium, which will stage this tournament's final.

For the second time in his career, Messi has scored in six consecutive international games for his country. He remains a joy of a player, and his country's biggest hope.

Substitute Enzo Fernandez added a late second goal that flattered Argentina, and it made the Benfica player, at 21 years and 313 days, the youngest Argentina scorer at a World Cup since the 18-year-old Messi announced himself at the 2006 finals. The past might still be a haunting influence, but here was a glimpse into the future.

A smiling Messi celebrated with relieved supporters at the end. For just a fleeting moment in this game, he had been afforded a yard of space and made it count.

Friday marked two years since the death of Maradona. He is Argentina's past, yet you still almost expect television cameras to pan to him in the stands.

Messi has spent his life trying to live up to the legend of Maradona, and that shared super-natural brilliance has just about kept Argentina's hopes alive in Qatar.

Aurelien Tchouameni has rubbished suggestions the France squad is a more harmonious place without Karim Benzema after reaching the World Cup knockout rounds.

Didier Deschamps' side are into the last 16 at Qatar 2022 after victory over Denmark in Group D, with Kylian Mbappe's double firing Les Bleus to a 2-1 win on Saturday.

The attacker has delivered for his side so far in the absence of Benzema, with the Ballon d'Or winner ruled out on the eve of the tournament with a thigh injury.

Some reports have suggested there has been a better atmosphere in the absence of the Real Madrid star, who was not involved at Russia 2018, but Tchouameni has now sought to dispel those rumours.

"I want to come back to something we saw concerning the departure of Karim," Tchouameni stated about his club and international team-mate.

"[Somewhere said] we have felt better since he was no longer here.

"It's totally false. Even when he was there, it was already going well. We have been hurt by these reports.

"What I can tell you is that since we arrived in Qatar, things have been going really well."

With two games under his belt, Tchouameni is fast becoming an integral member for Deschamps in his side's title defence, with France boosted too by the return of defender Raphael Varane.

The Manchester United centre-back has been nursing a problem since late October, but made his return to action with a start against Denmark.

Reflecting on his injury, Varane added: "I've come a long way. It's been a lot of work, a lot of effort to come back.

"I feel good. It's always special to play at this exceptional event. I'll take advantage of every moment. We will do everything to go as far as possible."

France will conclude their Group D campaign against Tunisia on November 30, and will discover their last-16 opponents later that day when Group C concludes.

Lionel Messi was once again Argentina's saviour with the breakthrough goal in a 2-0 win over Mexico at Lusail Stadium to ignite his side's World Cup campaign.

Poland's 2-0 victory over Saudi Arabia earlier on Saturday left Argentina needing to avoid defeat against Mexico if they were not to exit the competition after just two games.

Argentina put their shock 2-1 loss against Saudi Arabia behind them thanks to Messi's long-range opener after 64 minutes and Enzo Fernandez's equally-as-impressive late strike.

Lionel Scaloni's men join Saudi Arabia on three points and are one point behind Group C leaders Poland, who they face in their final match, while Mexico are bottom on one point.

Argentina made five changes on the back of their opening loss, three of those in defence, and they failed to register a meaningful attempt in the first half.

Mexico went closest to opening the scoring before the interval through an Alexis Vega free-kick that called Emiliano Martinez into action.

The quality only marginally improved in the second half, but out of nowhere Messi controlled Angel Di Maria's pass and fired a low shot past Guillermo Ochoa from 25 yards.

That strike took Messi level with fellow great Diego Maradona on eight World Cup goals for Argentina, who added a second through substitute Fernandez.

With three minutes left, the Benfica midfielder received a pass from Messi following a short corner, worked his way into the box and then curled away from Ochoa into the top corner.

Denmark attacker Jesper Lindstrom believes France's "crazy team" should reach the final of the World Cup, at the very least.

Kylian Mbappe scored twice on Saturday as the World Cup holders became the first team to seal a place in the round of 16 in Qatar with a 2-1 win over the Danes. It is the first time the reigning champions have reached the knockout stage since Brazil in 2006.

Andreas Christensen cancelled out Mbappe's opener at Stadium 974, but the Paris Saint-Germain forward bundled home from Antoine Griezmann's cross to claim the points in Group D.

Mbappe was the star performer in Doha, but Griezmann, Ousmane Dembele, Aurelien Tchouameni, Adrien Rabiot and Olivier Giroud were all excellent too.

With such a star-studded squad, Eintracht Frankfurt forward Lindstrom sees no reason why France should not reach the tournament's showpiece match on December 18.

"Look at the team, I think they should at least go to the final," Lindstrom said.

"They have game-winners. Mbappe, Dembele, Griezmann, Tchouameni... even on the bench, they have a crazy team.

"I think the game is always open when you play against Dembele and Mbappe, it's always going to be difficult with their speed."

Despite failing to score, France dominated the first half, having 13 shots and accumulating 0.99 expected goals (xG) to Denmark's 0.05, with Kasper Schmeichel pulling off two fine saves.

Having netted in the final in Russia four years ago, and in the 4-1 win over Australia on Tuesday, Mbappe is just the second player to score in three successive World Cup games for France since Just Fontaine, who scored in six consecutive appearances at the 1958 tournament.

Mbappe is now onto 31 goals for Les Bleus, netting 14 times in his last 12 games.

"He's one of them - top quality," Lindstrom replied when asked if Mbappe was the best player he had faced.

"He scored two goals, so we can't say we defended him well, but our wing-back was close to him. But you see he has the qualities to score when he gets the chances."

Rasmus Kristensen was the defender tasked with marking Mbappe, and the Leeds United right-back reflected: "Difficult. A good player, a really, really good player.

"For me maybe the best in the world. It's a privilege playing against the best. I was just trying to do my best."

Casemiro is confident Brazil can get by without Neymar for now as he backed "the star of the team" to get fit in time for the business end of the World Cup.

An ankle ligament injury forced Neymar to be substituted late on in Brazil's 2-0 win over Serbia on Thursday, as they got their Qatar 2022 campaign under way.

Richarlison scored both of Brazil's goals, and the Tottenham striker's form is one factor that gives holding midfielder Casemiro heart.

Neymar will certainly miss the game against Switzerland on Monday, and most likely the clash with Cameroon on Friday.

Whether he can recover in time to feature in the knock-out stages remains to be seen, but Brazil are optimistic.

Casemiro, quoted by Brazilian newspaper Globo, said: "If we keep talking about Neymar, we'll stay here for days, because of his importance.

"He's the star of the team, who makes the difference. But we have other similar players: Raphinha, Vini [Vinicius Junior], Richarlison. We have a wide range of options.

"Neymar is one of the best in the world, and unfortunately he will not be in the next game, but we have quality players to replace him, but of course not at his level."

Casemiro cited Lucas Paqueta of West Ham as a player who might come into the starting line-up and bring added verve in Neymar's absence.

"He is another important player," Casemiro said. "Very dynamic, modern. He plays outside, inside, false nine."

Defender Danilo is also on the Brazil sidelines for now, but Manchester United star Casemiro is backing both to pull out all the stops to be back in contention for Tite's starting side.

"Danilo and Neymar are working morning, afternoon and night, making the greatest effort in the world. They know they are important," Casemiro said.

"We have great professionals and health comes first. They will do everything to return 100 per cent as soon as possible."

Kylian Mbappe plays football "like a steam train" and showed his quiet leadership qualities with the double that fired France into the World Cup knockout rounds, says boss Didier Deschamps.

Les Bleus secured a 2-1 victory over Denmark thanks to a brace from the forward, to seal their progress from Group D after an opening win against Australia.

Having shot to stardom four years ago as the poster boy for France's World Cup victory at Russia 2018, Mbappe has arrived at Qatar 2022 with greater weight on his shoulders after an injury to Karim Benzema.

But Deschamps feels there is no extra heat upon him, who continues to be an integral part of the national set-up regardless of who his team-mates are with his attacking dominance.

"He’s a leader," he stated. "I don’t think leadership has one face. Kylian doesn't speak, he's not very talkative. However, he's like a steam train on the pitch. He's the one that gets the crowd going.

"Kylian's always got the same responsibility. He knows the French team need him, and we need him to be at his best. The proof is in the pudding from the first two games."

With Benzema's absence, Mbappe is just one of five players with a half-century of caps under their belt for the national team in Qatar, alongside Hugo Lloris, Olivier Giroud, Antoine Griezmann and Raphael Varane.

It marks a squad peppered with youthful faces and limited top-level experienced for Les Bleus, but Deschamps does not feel that is a hindrance, pointing to their sparkling club reputations.

"I have a great pool of players," he added. "I’m very lucky to be able to fall back on this pool of players.

"Most of them don’t have 50 caps, but they play in the best European clubs, I have a high-quality squad with an excellent mindset."

Antoine Griezmann says he is proud to match Zinedine Zidane for assists with France, but credited their World Cup victory over Denmark as a team performance.

Kylian Mbappe's double saw the defending champions book their place in the knockout rounds with a 2-1 win, cementing top spot in Group D with a game in hand.

Griezmann supplied the crucial delivery for the forward's winner, cancelling out Andreas Christensen's earlier equaliser, to move him to 26 assists overall for his country.

That draws him level with national legend and fellow World Cup winner Zidane, but while Griezmann was delighted to match the achievement, he was quick to pay tribute to Didier Deschamps' squad as a whole.

"I am very proud of that," he told TF1. "But I insist [it is] the work of the team, [rather than] my work offensively or defensively.

"There are the stats, [if] we only look at that. But everyone made an exceptional effort tonight. It was very important to win and qualify."

Griezmann's feat draws him level with Zidane, who helped France to World Cup success on home soil in 1998.

For France, victory marked a spot of revenge too after back-to-back losses against Kasper Hjulmand's side in the Nations League, and Griezmann acknowledged their win was a hard-fought one.

"We knew it was going to be a complicated match," he added. "We lost twice in the Nations League. We did a lot of work together. Those who returned worked well too. It's a very good victory."

France will wrap up their Group D campaign against Tunisia on November 30, where they will look to ensure they claim top spot and an arguably more favourable draw for the knockout stages.

After suffering a shock 2-1 defeat to Japan on matchday one, Germany could ideally do with a swift and straightforward response.

Unfortunately for them, awaiting Die Nationalelf at Al Bayt Stadium on Sunday will be a Spain side that remarkably won 7-0 against Costa Rica last time out.

Germany know defeat could doom them to a second successive group-stage elimination at the World Cup, an astonishing turn of events given that before 2018 they had not failed to get past the tournament's first round since 1938.

Another loss would consign Germany to three consecutive World Cup defeats for the first time ever – they have also never been beaten twice in the group stage of a single edition before.

The pressure is already on head coach Hansi Flick, who suggested one of his main objectives before Sunday's game is to ensure the team believes they can prevail.

"The team and every person can always develop," he said. "That's why the team still has potential, which it's not quite delivering at the moment.

"Nevertheless, I believe we have good quality. Yes, we trust the team. We're positive and just really want to see that we approach this game on Sunday against Spain positively.

"It's simply important to deal with defeats, but also to clear your head and focus on the new task, and that's our goal, to get the team to the point where they naturally believe that they can push this thing in the right direction on Sunday."

Regardless of Germany's belief, Flick's side can at least take solace in the fact they pretty much know how Spain will play – Luis Enrique is never secretive about his expectations for La Roja.

In their obliteration of Los Ticos, Spain recorded a possession figure of 81.9 per cent, setting a new record since Opta have this data available in the World Cup (from 1966), surpassing Argentina’s 80.3 per cent against Greece in 2010.

That was Spain's biggest ever World Cup victory and they also boast a strong recent record over Germany, having lost only one of their previous seven meetings.

Granted, Spain have only won their first two games of a World Cup three times and not since 2006, but Luis Enrique was adamant after the Costa Rica win that complacency will not be an issue.

This may be a young Spain squad, but they have long resembled an immensely unified unit under the guidance of Luis Enrique, who acts as a sort of pressure sponge, and Rodri believes their overall connection is their key strength.

"It's true we have been working very good for a long time, maybe on the results front," he said. "Nowadays in football there is great equality, but the performance was there [against Costa Rica], and it was good.

"The sensations were great, the team is whole in every line, defensively and offensively the team worked like an accordion.

"The goals for me were a consequence of our play, and what I liked more about the other day is that we know that the collective is what will bring us success.

"That is why everyone was remarkable, everyone had a great contribution, and everyone respected his position and his role."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Spain – Pedri

He was withdrawn before the hour mark against Costa Rica, but that was more than enough time to show just how integral Pedri is to how Spain play. He completed 97 per cent of his passes (86/89), but what made that even more impressive was the fact he was the fulcrum of La Roja's attacking play, with only Dani Olmo (33) attempting more passes in the final third than him (30).

Managing to maintain that accuracy in such a congested area of the pitch where he was expected to take risks was mightily impressive, and he even managed to tally a joint-high three key passes. Germany would be wise to pay him special attention.

Germany – Serge Gnabry

The defeat to Japan was a game to forget for Germany, but Gnabry did at least look lively. He managed six shots on matchday one, with three of them on target, and was very involved.

In fact, he played a part in 12 open-play sequences that ended a shot, with Kylian Mbappe (13) the only player to better him in that regard over the first round of matches at the tournament. He will need to do better in front of goal, but he clearly has the capacity to cause Spain problems.

PREDICTION

There is every chance this will be close.

Spain go into the game as the favourites with a 42.7 per cent chance of success, according to Stats Perform's AI model, but this means there is a 57.3 per cent likelihood of them failing to win.

That incorporates Germany's 31.9 per cent probability of emerging victorious, which also highlights how difficult this game is to call from the outset.

Kylian Mbappe poached a double as France became the first side to clinch a place in the last-16 stage at the Qatar World Cup with a 2-1 win over Denmark.

It took France until just past the hour mark to make a breakthrough, as Mbappe finished off an electrifying break.

Denmark were level seven minutes later when Andreas Christensen planted a close-range header past Hugo Lloris, and substitute Martin Braithwaite later clipped the post.

However, Mbappe was decisive when he bundled in Antoine Griezmann's cross from the right in the 86th minute.