Ivory Coast and Curaçao face off in their final games in Group E, as both sides seek history in qualifying for the knockout stages of the World Cup for the first ever time.
The Ivorians will come into this game with a tinge of regret, but also a huge sense of confidence. They stretched Germany all the way, and arguably should have won that game, before they were condemned to a defeat by Deniz Undav's late brace. That result followed up a late winner of their own in the opening game of the tournament, when they struck in the 90th minute to beat Ecuador.
On their World Cup debut, Curaçao have been a breath of fresh air. They went toe-to-toe with the Germans for about half an hour of their opening game, and even scored their first-ever World Cup goal, though Comenencia, to make it 1-1 in that game. However, the sheer quality of the Germans told after that, and they won 7-1. To Curaçao's credit, they have not let that result hamper their tournament. They came out against Ecuador in the next game, and did a sterling job of keeping them quiet, led by a magnificent goalkeeping performance by Eloy Room, who made 15 saves in that game.
Curaçao still harbour hopes of qualification for the knockout stages, and much will hinge on how their defence deals with the pace in the Ivorian attack.
Here's everything you need to know about Thursday's game.
How to watch:
The match will be available on BBC Two in the UK, Fox Sports in the U.S., Zee5 in India and SBS in Australia. You can also follow ESPN's live updates.
Key Details:
Date, kick-off time:
U.S. ET: Thursday June 25, 3 p.m.
UK BST: Thursday June 25, 9 p.m.
India IST: Friday June 26, 1:30 a.m..
Australia AEST: Friday June 26, 6 a.m.
Venue: Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, USA
Referee: Glenn Nyberg (Sweden)
Predicted Lineups
Curaçao
Eloy Room
Joshua Brenet | Jurren Gaari | Armando Obispo | Sherel Floranus | Deveron Fonville
Tahith Chong | Livano Comenencia | Leandro Bacuna | Juninho Bacuna
Jürgen Locadia
Ivory Coast
Yahia Fofana
Guela Doué | Ousmane Diomande | Emmanuel Agbadou | Ghislain Konan
Franck Kessié | Ibrahim Sangaré | Chirst Inao Oulai
Amad Diallo | Ange-Yoan Bonny | Yan Diomande
Talking Points
Ivory Coast attackers face Room-shaped barrier
With 15 saves in one game, Curaçao goalkeeper Eloy Room wrote his name in World Cup folklore, as the island nation picked up their first-ever World Cup point against Ecuador last week.
Once again, Room is likely to face a bombarding of his goal in this game. In their two games so far, Curaçao have faced 53 shots, and 27 of those have been on target. Room has made 20 saves in two games so far.
Ivory Coast, with their pace, dribbling ability and quick passing in the final third, are likely to cause a similar amount of problems to Curaçao, and will likely have a high number of shots as well. That's just how the likes of Amad Diallo and Yan Diomande play.
So, once again, Curaçao's hopes are down to Eloy Room and their defence. If they can hold firm, Dick Advocaat will be hoping that they can make a moment or two stick on the counter-attack, as Curaçao seek the most historic day in their football.
How can Ivory Coast and Curaçao qualify for the Round of 32?
If Ivory Coast win this game, they are guaranteed a spot in the top two. If they draw this game, then they'll finish in the top two if Germany to take a point or three off Ecuador in the other game in this group.
If Curaçao win this game, then they will go up to four points, and will finish in second, if Ecuador don't win against Germany. If Curaçao draw this game and Germany beat Ecuador, then Dick Advocaat's team will finish third in this group, but with two points, that situation wouldn't end favourably for Curaçao's hopes of qualification.
There are scenarios with which teams could qualify for the knockouts with just three points, as one of the eight best third-placed teams, but those scenarios will become clearer as the games progress.