World Cup day six

World Cup hosts Brazil are back in action against Mexico for the second of their three group matches, on Tuesday in Fortaleza. A win for either team would almost certainly book a place in the round of 16. The final rankings for Group A are especially important as Spain, the Netherlands or Chile could all be possible next round opponents.

Neymar will excite the Fortaleza crowd after two goals in the opening day win over Croatia. Head coach Luiz Felipe Scolari is uncertain about using forward Hulk, who is still recovering from a muscle injury.

"If he can't play we lose something because this team has been playing together for a long time with this same system," Scolari said, before the game. "We respect Mexico, they always play very well against Brazil. They are warriors and very well organized."

On recent form Brazil look to be favourites. The Selecao beat Mexico in Fortaleza at last summer's Confederations Cup, as Neymar scored one of the two goals on the night.

But Mexico also has goal-scoring potential too. Oribe Peralta - Mexico's top scorer in qualification - scored in Mexico's first group game match to earn his team the three points against Cameroon, in what was a controversial match featuring two disallowed Mexico goals. The win was enough to banish the thought of injustice in place of belief of qualification.

"Our spirits are high," Mexico coach Miguel Herrera said. "We are going out there to win."

Belgium open tournament versus Algeria

Firstly, though, the game billed as a symbol for integration and multi-nationalism takes place between Belgium and Algeria. Both call upon a host of players born in other nations, with Algeria's youthful contingent largely coming out of France.

It was the Algerians who challenged FIFA's dual-nationality regulations in 2008. A change from the world's governing body has opened the door for many new professionals playing for the North Africa nation.

The team has profited immensely: 16 of the 23-man squad was born in France, including the likes of Sofiane Feghouli (Valencia, Spain), Nabil Bentaleb (Tottenham, England) and Saphir Taider (Inter Milan, Italy).

Algeria would lack high quality otherwise. Their opponents, Belgium, are enjoying a similar blossoming of many foreign-born players with Belgian connections. Twelve of their World Cup squad has direct roots with another country, while several other homegrown players spent years in academies in the Netherlands and France.

Belgium are considered one of the outside chances to progress to the latter rounds of the tournament, considering their depth of talent. But head coach Marc Wilmots has laughed off concerns around the increasing pressure on his young team.

"Pressure? What pressure? Pressure is for example when a child is seriously ill in hospital," said the 45-year-old at a pre-game press conference. "This is football: I see nothing but sheer enjoyment from the players here. In just two years we have come an incredibly long way."

South Korea hope for better Asian luck

In the late match, Russia and South Korea meet in the opening encounter of Group H with the Red Devils aiming to be the first side from Asia to win at this summer's World Cup. A defeat for Japan and a 0-0 draw involving Iran has left the Asian confederation's representatives seeking their first win in Brazil.

Mainz's Koo Ja-Cheol is captain of South Korea and one of the country's most talented players. His team was strong at first in qualifying but they stuttered through the second group phase when tackled by Carlos Queiroz's Iran.

Their inconsistent form has hindered preparation for the World Cup with four defeats in the last five matches. Tunisia and Ghana are the latest two to have beaten the Koreans with the Black Stars running out 4-0 winners.

"The overall atmosphere was not that great," Koo told a press conference this week, "but thanks to that match we talked a lot about it, and how we didn't take advantage of the chances against Ghana."

"As we arrived in Brazil, we created a more positive atmosphere. We are fully confident about tomorrow."

All of the Russian squad play in the country's domestic league and the side is coached by Fabio Capello, the former England manager and several-time Serie A winner. The team has been on an unbeaten run since the 1-0 defeat to Northern Ireland in August.

"We are bidding to win this tournament," Alexander Kerzhakov, Zenit St. Petersburg's veteran striker, said. "All of our players have been thriving in Russia, but people outside the country don't know us."