Live Coverage: World Cup live: June 27 - as it happened

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World Cup live: June 27 - as it happened
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Hello and welcome to Sports Mole's live news coverage from the 16th day of the World Cup.

We will bring you all of the reaction and gossip from Brazil following the conclusion of Group G and Group H last night.

Despite no matches taking place this evening, we will bring you all of the news ahead of the last-16 matches that begin over the weekend.

9.59pmSo that's all for our World Cup live coverage today, but don't worry because we'll be back tomorrow as the action gets back underway in the round of 16. If you want, you can read previews for both of tomorrow's matches here: Brazil vs. Chile Colombia vs. Uruguay Our live blog will be online from 11am tomorrow as we build up to both of those matches, but we'll be here all night too to keep you up to date. I'll leave you with this picture from the USA Soccer Twitter account, which shows what their squad got up to on the first day with no matches. Thanks for joining us throughout today, goodbye.

9.54pmSwitzerland will take on one of the team's with the biggest travelling fanbase in Brazil; Argentina. However, goalkeeper Diego Benaglio is optimistic that the locals will cheer for them and make their last-16 encounter feel like a home match for Switzerland.

9.34pmIn their final group game yesterday, USA midfielder Jermaine Jones suffered a broken nose when he clashed heads with a teammate. It seems he's made of tough stuff though as the team have confirmed that he will be available for selection and won't be wearing a protective mask during their last 16 clash with Belgium next week.

9.17pmGermany's Thomas Muller, who was the winner of the Golden Boot in 2010, could be in line to win the prize again this time around. He jointly leads the standings after netting four times during the group stages, but he admits that he would rather win the tournament than have the individual accolade.

8.57pmManchester City midfielder Fernandinho achieved a personal milestone earlier this week when he scored his first World Cup goal during Brazil's 4-1 win over Cameroon. Ahead of tomorrow's match against Chile in the round of 16, he told FIFA.com: "I've always dreamed of playing in the World Cup and wearing the Selecao jersey, but I knew how difficult that was, what with me playing in Ukraine for Shakhtar. "Last year, though, when I moved to England and began playing in a much bigger league with a much higher profile, I could see things coming together for me. I fought hard, chased my dream and got the call-up for the game with South Africa in March. Everything I did from June 2013 onwards was with the goal of making it here to the World Cup. "[After the match] I went back to the hotel, had a bath and tried to stay focused, while my family were at home getting congratulatory messages from everyone. I'm sure they felt more excited about the whole thing than me, but I was delighted to make them that happy."

8.38pmOn Monday, Group G winners Germany will face one of the tournament's surprise packages, Algeria, for a spot in the quarter-finals. Benedikt Howedes played all three of their group games at left-back, despite being generally more recognised as a centre-back. The Schalke 04 man believes that he did well in the role.

8.22pmSo far in this tournament, there are three players to have scored four goals; Brazil's Neymar, Argentina's Lionel Messi and Thomas Muller of Germany. Brazil captain Thiago Silva believes that Neymar has same level of ability as Messi.

8.10pmBelgium have a bit of a wait before they play their round of 16 match. They face the USA on Tuesday for a place in the quarter-finals, but may have to do so without the aid of captain Vincent Kompany, who has been plagued by a groin injury. Coach Marc Wilmots believes that it's currently too soon to tell whether the Manchester City defender will be fit in time for the match.

7.52pmChile looked impressive in their first two group matches, beating Spain and Australia, before suffering a defeat in their final game against the Netherlands, leaving them facing a last 16 tie with Brazil. Coach Jorge Sampaoli insists that they will continue with their fast style during the knockout stages.

7.33pmOne person who hasn't had the day off is ex-footballer and Sky Sports pundit Chris Kamara, who has been working at the tournament. He posted on Twitter earlier this afternoon that he had spent his day with the police after chasing down a street thief and helping officers arrest the man, and it would appear there was a happy ending for the victim:

7.29pmEnglish referee Howard Webb will be back in action as well tomorrow, as he takes charge of the host nation's clash with Chile. He was also the referee when the two teams met in South Africa four years ago. There have been some speculation that referees have been giving Brazil soft decisions so far in this tournament, but team spokesman Rodrigo Paiva insists that that is not the case.

7.15pmThe action will resume tomorrow when Brazil face Chile and Colombia take on Uruguay. Colombia have in strong form recently, and have not lost since last year, when Uruguay beat them in the latter stages of the qualifying campaign. Even though Uruguay will be without Luis Suarez, Colombia striker Teofilo Gutierrez admits that they will be tough opponents.

7.03pmThanks Alex. Good evening, even though there's no live coverage to bring you tonight, there's news emerging all the time from Brazil as the teams still involved in the tournament prepare for their round of 16 matches, so stick around for the next few hours as we continue our World Cup Live coverage.

6.59pmWell, that's all from me. I will now hand you over to Sian Cowper, who will be bringing you the latest news over the next few hours!

6.57pmUSA manager Jurgen Klinsmann has revealed that he is optimistic that Jozy Altidore can return from injury against Belgium. "We are very optimistic. Every day is a big step forward with Jozy," Klinsmann told reporters. "It's 11 days now and it's looking better every day so we're optimistic to have him being part of the Belgium game."

6.46pmAlessandro Nesta has said that Italy should focus on the development of their younger players. The Azzurri crashed out of the World Cup at the group stages and the former Milan defender admits it may be time for some of their more senior players to step aside.

6.28pmShinji Kagawa has admitted that Japan do not possess enough quality in their side following their World Cup exit. The Asian Champions were knocked out of the tournament after a 4-1 defeat to Colombia in their final Group C match. "We can play well as a team, but in terms of individual quality, we are not good enough to score or avoid conceding in the final moments, which is the difference between us and the best teams in the world," he told reporters.

6.11pmBrazilian legend Ronaldo has insisted that his country will meet Argentina in the World Cup final. "I'm pretty sure that the final will be Brazil-Argentina," he told reporters. "It will be a dream if we win. But to lose would be a nightmare. So hopefully Argentina lose before then."

6.00pmOne manager who won't be stay is Safet Susic, who has announced that he will step down as the coach of Bosnia-Herzegovina. The country were making their first appearance at the World Cup finals this summer, but failed to make it out of the group stages.

5.43pmThe president of the Russian Football Union has said that Fabio Capello will remain as manager of the national side. There had been speculation that the former England boss would be dismissed following Russia's exit from the World Cup, but he has been backed by Nikolai Tolstykh to lead the country into their Euro 2016 qualifying campaign.

5.29pmMemphis Depay has praised his Netherlands teammate Arjen Robben for his performances at the World Cup. "Robben is fantastic," Depay told reporters. "It's fantastic to train with him every day. I can't believe my eyes what he can do with the ball. It's unbelievable how fast he is with the ball. He's a great player."

5.08pmNigeria captain Joseph Yobo has said that he is only concentrating on his country's World Cup match against France, despite a row over bonuses. The Super Eagles boycotted training on Thursday, after demanding to be paid their appearance bonus for reaching the knockout stages of the World Cup.

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