Guillermo Ochoa plays hero at Fortaleza

Brazil     0  -  0   Mexico

The Brazilians were all pumped up for their second fixture against Mexico, the team they lost to in the Olympic finals. Brazil were without forward Hulk, who was out due to a hamstring injury. Ramires got the nod as his replacement. Mexico, on the other hand, started with the same lineup that they played against Cameroon. Brazil played an attacking 4-3-3 formation while the Mexicans went with wingbacks, playing a rather defensive 5-3-2.

First Half: 0-0

Brazil made a strong start to the proceedings via some exquisite attacking football from Neymar and Oscar. The Mexicans could barely manage a touch on the ball in the opening minutes however, their defense seemed to be compact. Dos Santos was playing a bit deeper than his usual position to provide cover. The Mexicans started growing in confidence as the game progressed with a shot by Hector Herrera forcing a good save off Julio Cesar. As the game opened up, at the other end Neymar’s header was denied by an outstanding save courtesy Guillermo Ochoa. Neymar made some great runs through the Mexican defense and seemed to be the obvious threat. Despite playing a defensive formation, the Mexicans made some good runs at the Brazilian defense via Andres Guardado and Jose Vazquez. Ochoa was clearly the man of the moment for Mexico, making another brilliant save to deny David Luiz. The first half ended goalless, much to the frustration of the Brazilian supporters.

Second Half:

Felipe Scolari decided to bring on Bernard for Ramires who seemed to be out of sorts in the first half. The introduction of Bernard injected some pace and width to the Brazilian attack forcing a good save off Rodriguez via a Neymar header. Mexico were managing to make some good runs via Miguel Layun and Dos Santos. The Mexicans took some good long rangers however, failing to hit the target. The Brazilians seemed to find it difficult to break the defensive wall set by Ochoa as he made another outstanding save to deny Neymar in the 69’ and Bernard in the 86’. Willian was bought on in place of Oscar to provide more pace and width. Andres Guardado continued to impress with his long rangers, narrowly missing the target. Raul Jimenez too forced a save off Brazilian goalkeeper, Julio Cesar. During the closing minutes Mexico looked as the side more likely to win. Nevertheless, the fast paced match ended in a goalless draw.

The man of the match was clearly Guillermo Ochoa for his outstanding saves. This is the second game in which Brazil haven’t been convincing with their ability to dominate, let alone win the game. With just one game left, and stealing a point from the hosts, Mexico have majorly boosted their chances of qualifying for the knockouts at the expense of Croatia.