World Cup 2018, Brazil vs Mexico: 3 Things that Mexico did wrong against Brazil
Brazil was convincing in their victory after a rather subdued start to the game in which they struggled to grab a decent hold over the proceedings.
However, once they settled in, Mexico could only muster a few chances by breaking on the counter. Otherwise, it was a typically dominant performance in the second half by Brazil as they displayed cohesion, flair and their characteristic fluidity in their attacking endeavors.
Neymar led from the front, scoring once and assisting Roberto Firmino’s goal too, and was a constant threat in and around the opposition box.
Mexico looked promising at times, but could not maintain possession for a longer stretch of play and often refrained from capitalizing on their chances. Here, I decipher three reasons why Mexico had to suffer a loss, and eventually bow out of the tournament today.
#1 Inability to continue with the high press
As said earlier, Mexico started the game brightly and forced Brazil into losing possession at important occasions.
Their energetic midfield display meant that they recovered the ball quicker and transitioned the play into counter-attacks almost instantly. This pegged Brazil back and forced them to defend deep.
During this period, Brazil had no link between the backline and the attack and Mexico often found them on the move.
This was courtesy of Brazil’s tendency to succumb to the press and the cracks in their opposition’s backline were well detected by the Mexican players.
However, Brazil were quick to react and slowed the tempo of the game to negate the press. Mexico fell into this trap and eventually dropped their shoulders too.
This meant that the energy and intensity dropped for a while, with both teams playing at an average pace.
However, with the talent of the superstars that Brazil have at their disposal, it was always going to take a couple of moments for the course of the game to change completely.
Neymar’s brilliant run and the cutback to Willian, which was then finished by Neymar from inside the box.
From there on, or even before that, Mexico’s game plan had changed drastically from their initial approach, as they did not look to press the opponents with tenacity.