Day 6 of the 2014 World Cup completed the first round of matches in the group stage as Group H came into play while Group A became the first o have its teams play two matches. The main fixture, Brazil vs Mexico, ended in a 0-0 draw, while Belgium have the early advantage in their group following a 2-1 win over Algeria, while Russia and South Korea parted in a 1-1 draw.
Belgium 2 Algeria 1: Algeria came to park the bus and almost got away with it, scoring from the penalty spot in the 25th minute and then buried themselves deep in defense, hoping that the storm will pass. Belgium struggled creating good chances but eventually got their wish through a set piece and a Marouane Fellaini header. A complete breakdown in the Algerian defense gave Belgium the chance to snatch the late winner as substitute Dries Martens drilled a shot into the top corner, giving Belgium their first World Cup win in their new golden generation age.
Brazil 0 Mexico 0: Unlike the goalless draw from day 5, Brazil and Mexico provided a bit more quality and attacking intentions to their 0-0. A terrific performance from Guillermo Ochoa in the second half meant Mexico remain without conceding a single goal in this World Cup. Mexico had their chances as well, mostly through long range shooting by Andre Guardado, but find themselves with one more point than they probably expected to have at this stage before the tournament began.
Russia 1 South Korea 1: For the first time in this tournament we have two draws in the same day. One awful mistake from Igor Akinfeev allowed South Korea to take the lead in the 68th minute through Lee Keun-Ho, but Aleksandr Kerzhakov equalized after a messy situation inside the opponents box, scoring from close range six minutes later. Russia were the more dangerous team in the match, but were also quite wasteful when the got near the goal of Jung Sung-Ryong.
With five more goals we’re now at 49 goals in 17 matches, dropping below 3 per match for the first time in the tournament (2.88). We also had the first day with two drawn matches, bringing us to three matches with no winners, two of them ending without goals.
Group A
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Brazil |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 4 |
 Mexico |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 4 |
 Cameroon |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −1 | 0 |
 Croatia |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 0 |
Group H
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Belgium |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 3 |
 Russia |
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 South Korea |
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 Algeria |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 0 |
Top Scorers
1. Thomas Muller (Germany) – 3 goals
2. Neymar (Brazil), Robin van Persie (Netherlands), Arjen Robben (Netherlands), Karim Benzema (France) – 2 goals
3. Oscar (Brazil), Oribe Peralta (Mexico), Xabi Alonso (Spain), Stefan de Vrij (Netherlands), Alexis Sanchez (Chile), Jorge Valdivia (Chile), Tim Cahill (Australia), Jean Beausejour (Chile), Pablo Armero (Colombia), Teofilo Gutierrez (Colombia), James Rodriguez (Colombia), Edinson Cavani (Uruguay), Joel Campbell (Costa Rica), Oscar Duarte (Costa Rica), Marco Urena (Costa Rica), Claudio Marchisio (Italy), Mario Balotelli (Italy), Daniel Sturridge (England), Keisuke Honda (Japan), Wilfried Bony (Ivory Coast), Gervinho (Ivory Coast), Enner Valencia (Ecuador), Admir Mehmedi (Switzerland), Haris Seferovic (Switzerland), Lionel Messi (Argentina), Vedad Ibisevic (Bosnia), Mats Hummels (Germany), Clint Dempsey (United States), Andre Ayew (Ghana), Josh Brooks (United States), Sofiane Feghouli (Algeria), Marouane Fellaini (Belgium), Dries Mertens (Belgium) – 1 goal
Tomorrow
Australia vs Netherlands
Spain vs Chile
Cameroon vs Croatia