Germany are once again staring group stage elimination from the World Cup in the face for the second time in a row. Following their victory in Brazil in 2014, Die Nationalmannschaft suffered the infamous champions curse, as defeats to Mexico and a shocking loss to South Korea saw them fall out of the group stages with only one win to their name.
Coming into this one, the prospect is a similar one, another shocking loss to Japan in round one of fixtures and a draw to high flying Spain sees them currently sitting bottom of the group as the only team without a win in Group E.
Meanwhile, Costa Rica turned their fortunes around in round 2 after a humiliating 7-0 defeat to group leaders Spain on opening day of this group.
This one is a winner takes all clash with Germany needing nothing less than a win to progress, a win for Costa Rica will see them progress regardless of what happens between Japan and Spain. Should this one end in a draw, Costa Rica will need Japan to draw in order to progress, while a loss means they will be eliminated.
For Germany, they will be out if they fail to win, if they win they need Japan to lose, while if that fixture is a draw, Germany must win by two goals. The worst case scenario comes if Japan beat Spain, Germany will need to win by eight goals to progress at the expense of Spain, a scenario that is very unlikely.
Should Germany fail to win, Hansi Flick will become the first German manager in history to fail to win any of his opening three World Cup fixtures, last time these two sides met at the finals was in the 2006 World Cup where Germany were the hosts and came out on top 4-2.
Team News
For Flick he has his squad at a clean bill of health now, with Leroy Sane returning from a knee injury off the bench against Spain last game.
One headache that may be suffered is who to select between Nicolas Fullkrug, who scored in the previous fixture and will certainly be challenging Thomas Muller to spearhead the attack.
Should Sane be slotted back into the team, this most likely would see Manchester City's Ilkay Gundogan drop deeper into the midfield forcing Leon Goretzka out of the team.
Costa Rica would have been hoping to see an unchanged lineup from their victory over Japan, however centre back Francisco Calvo picked up his second booking of the tournament last game so will miss out on this one through suspension. A five man backline against their opponents is most likely with the experience of Juan Pablo Vargas coming in as his replacement.
Players to Watch
Germany:
For Flick's side, their greatest strength comes in the middle of the park in Bayern Munich man Joshua Kimmich. Kimmich has been a regular in the national side for many years, originally starting as a right back and now moving into a holding midfield role, he has often been compared to another Bayern Munich great Phillip Lahm.
While he is not a player who gets on the scoresheet very often, he is a workhorse in the middle of the park and is key to stopping a high tempo passing game against them with his ability to intercept and cut passing lanes.
Not only strong in his holding role however, his through balls can cut open any opposition defence as well as ability taking a set piece, corners may cause problems if he can find the head of defenders such as Antonio Rudiger.
Costa Rica:
For the CONCACAF side, Keylor Navas will be vital if they are to stand any chance to progress. Spending so many years as a top level number one with Real Madrid before moving on to PSG, they will be calling on that experience to keep out some of Europe's top players in this one.
In order to do so, he will have to put that hammering on the first day behind him, and so far he seems to have done so keeping a clean sheet against Japan last time out.
There was cause for concern before the tournament with the keeper not earning himself many minutes in Ligue 1 since the arrival of Gianluigi Donnarumma, however, those fears seem to have been quelled after last game, and there is still hope for this side following their victory.
Expected Lineups
Costa Rica:
Navas, Fuller, Duarte, Vargas, Watson, Oviedo, Torres, Borges, Tejeda, Campbell, Contreras
Germany:
Neuer, Klostermann, Sule, Rudiger, Raum, Kimmich, Gundogan; Gnabry, Musiala, Sane, Fullkrug
How to Watch
Where is the game?
The final group game will be played at Al Bayt Stadium.
When is the game?
The final group games kick off at 7PM UK time.
How can I watch?
This game will be shown on ITV4 with both games being played at the same time.