Mexico, Croatia battle for place in knockout round (Live on TSN Radio 1050, TSN Radio 690, TEAM Radio 1410 at 4pm et/1pm pt) Mexico has reached the knockout round in each of the past five World Cups, and El Tri can extend that streak to six with a win or draw against Croatia at the Arena Pernambuco today in the final day of Group A play. Both teams beat Cameroon, but Mexicos 0-0 draw against Brazil is the difference between the sides, as Croatia fell 3-1 to the hosts in the opening match of the tournament. Much of the credit for Mexico getting a point against Brazil goes to goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa, who produced a number of fine stops to keep his team in the match. "Sometimes its our turn to catch the eye and other times its someone elses," Ochoa said following the game with Brazil. "Of course Id like to have less to do, but in my position youve got to be constantly alert, whether youre needed just once or loads of times. And thats what Ill keep training for." Ochoa made a pair of big saves to deny Neymar, while he reacted well in the final minutes to keep out a point-blank header from Thiago Silva. "He saved us today," Mexican winger Andres Guardado said of Ochoa. "Sometimes we had the feeling that, however many times they went for goal, he wasnt going to let anything get past him." Ochoa will hope to be a bit less active on Monday, although Croatia enters the match full of confidence having handed Cameroon a 4-0 defeat last time out. After missing top forward Mario Mandzukic against Brazil because of suspension, the Bayern Munich forward returned to the fold against the African side and netted a pair of goals in the second half. Croatia was unlucky to lose 3-1 to Brazil in the opener as a questionable penalty decision handed the home side a 2-1 lead in the second half before Oscar scored a goal in stoppage time to cap the win. Unlike Mexico, Croatia must win Mondays game in order to advance to the round of 16 for the first time since 1998, and head coach Niko Kovac is expecting a great atmosphere. "The match against Mexico will be like a final," Kovac told Croatian television station HTV. "We have to get some rest, because a serious opponent awaits. Mexico are strong, but so are we. The Mexico players are very patriotic, just like us, and they have a great team spirit. They play some aggressive football with a lot of pressing. They are strong going forward, but also have some weaknesses in defense, like Brazil showed us." Thomas Vanek Jersey . Atletico Madrid made it three wins from three thanks to a double from in-form striker Diego Costa in a 3-0 victory at Austria Vienna, leaving the Spanish side on the brink of the last 16 already to continue its brilliant start to the season. Josh Anderson Jersey . Among the teams moves was trading one of the teams two third round picks, no. 83 overall, to the Chicago Blackhawks for Brandon Bollig, a six-foot-two, 223-pound left-winger who had seven goals, seven assists, and 92 penalty minutes in 82 games last season. http://www.cheapbluejacketsjerseys.com/?...dubinsky-jersey. Kuper, a fifth-round pick in Denvers 2006 draft, started 79 games at guard over eight seasons. He dislocated his left ankle in the last game of the 2011 regular season, and though he started another seven games after that, he never returned to his previous level. Sonny Milano Jersey . The Packers, Lions and Bears were a combined 35-15 and as long as Jay Cutler can say healthy, all three could make the playoffs in 2012. Adidas Gabriel Carlsson Jersey . Fans in the Jets viewing region can watch the game on TSN Jets at 5:30pm ct and listeners can tune in to TSN Radio 1290 Winnipeg.DENVER -- Semyon Varlamov came up big when his teammates needed him most. It wasnt easy against one of the hottest teams in the league. Varlamov stopped 29 shots, Ryan OReilly and Jamie McGinn each had a goal and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Philadelphia Flyers 2-1 on Thursday night. Steve Mason also had 29 saves and Wayne Simmonds scored for the Flyers, who had their four-game winning streak stopped. Philadelphia won the first three on this six-game road trip, scoring four goals in each victory but was stymied by strong goaltending by Colorado. "Sometimes you run into a hot goalie you cant do anything about," forward Scott Hartnell said. The Flyers tried, generating several chances in the final minutes only to be denied. Varlamov had several good stops throughout the game, including one on Hartnell with 3:24 left. It was the second time Varlamov made a big save on the big forward. Mason came off for an extra skater with 1:29 left and Philadelphia had several chances but couldnt get the equalizer against Varlamov. "It seems thats the story every night," McGinn said. "We let him do his thing and weve got to put enough in because we know hes going to give his best." Although Varlamov started his career in the Eastern Conference, he only faced Philadelphia twice before Thursday. He played as if he knew them well, sliding side-to-side to make big saves. Down 1-0, the Flyers had a great chance to tie it on a power play in the first. Steve Downie got behind the Avalanche defence and broke in alone on Varlamov, but the goalie made a pad save to preserve the lead. Varlamov denied Hartnell on a chance early in the second, and then laid out to deny Downie again on a power play with 12:54 left in the middle period. "Downie almost got me with the backhand," Varlamov said. "He has great skill. I was lucky on that one." Two minutes later, OReilly made it 2-0 when his shot went off Masonn and over his head into the net.dddddddddddd It was his 14th of the season. "It hit me on the top of the right pad, I just bent down and it went over," Mason said. The Flyers broke through when Simmonds slid across the front of the crease and tipped in a shot from defenceman Andrej Meszaros with 6:12 left in the second. It was Simmonds 13th goal of the season. But that was all they could get against Varlamov. They had just three shots through the first 14:30 of the third before putting seven shots on net the rest of the way. Each time, Varlamov was there to make the save. "The first two shifts (of the third) they were in our zone but we weathered that storm and went after them," Hartnell said. "A lot of pucks on net, we were screening goals, peopled driving the net. You do that most games you get rewarded but tonight we got stoned." Colorado took a 1-0 lead midway through the first when McGinn, trailing the play after a Philadelphia turnover, scored off Matt Duchenes rebound. It was McGinns eighth of the season and second in as many games. "They did a good job of driving the net," Colorado coach Patrick Roy said of Duchene and McGinn. The Flyers played most of the game without forward Michael Raffl. Raffl suffered a concussion when he was checked into the boards by Gabriel Landeskog early in the second period. "I didnt think it was a penalty," Flyers coach Craig Berube said. "Hes against the glass, he hit him, its tough play. I didnt think it was a dirty hit at all." NOTES: Landeskog extended his points streak to five games with his assist on OReillys goal. ... Colorado has won six straight home games against the Flyers. ... Colorado D Ryan Wilson was a late scratch from the lineup. ... Philadelphia C Vincent Lecavalier needs eight goals to reach 400 for his career. ... Avalanche C Paul Stastny was selected to the U.S. Olympic team Wednesday. ' ' '