The last of the opening round matches, Russia and South Korea face-off Tuesday in what is already a crucial Group H match as they each vie for the points necessary to move on to the next round. Belgium is the group favorite and is not expected to lose a match this round. If that holds fast, then Tuesday's match between South Korea and Russia could very likely decide who else will advance along with Belgium to the knockout round.

When: Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Where: Arena Pantanal, Cuiaba

Kick-off: 6:00 p.m. ET/11:00 p.m. BST

Live Stream: ESPN Player, BBC iPlayer

TV: ESPN, BBC One

Russian Rebound

According to Bleacher Report, Russia's club has not qualified for the World Cup in its previous two attempts, so they will definitely be looking to prove that they belong here. It has been 12 long years since they competed in the world's most popular sporting event. But this squad is no joke, finishing first in its qualifying group, ahead of Portugal. They have the talent, but winning on the world's biggest stage will require something more, and they may just have it.

In fact, it's been almost a year since this Russia squad lost a match, winning seven of 10 contests in that stretch. And one of those victories came over South Korea in Dubai last year in which the Russians completed a 2-1 comeback to hand South Korea a defeat in the friendly.

South Korea in Trouble

South Korea has been in a bit of a funk of late. Five of their last seven contests have been losses, and they've gone scoreless in four of those five defeats. Their last game prior to the World Cup was a 4-0 destruction by Ghana, one of the tournaments better squads.

South Korea's troubles are not for a lack of talent. It is up to the coaches to figure out a strategy that will allow stars Park Chu-young and Ki Sung-yeung to shine brightly. But that won't be easy, as Russia's well-balanced attack will be tough for the struggling Korean squad to overcome.

Keep in mind that both clubs still have to play Belgium and Algeria, so if either South Korea or Russia is to advance, the points available on Tuesday are crucial. All three of them.

Projected Lineups

Russia: Akinveev; Anyukov, Ignashevich, Berezutskiy, Kombarov; Denisov, Shirokov; Samedov, Zhirkov, Dzagoev; Kerzhakov.

South Korea: Jung Sung-ryong; Lee Yong, Hong Jeong-ho, Kim Young-gwon, Kim Chang-soo; Park Jong-woo, Ki Sung-yeung; Lee Chung-yong, Koo Ja-cheol, Son Heung-min; Park Chu-young.