World Cup 2018: Brazil vs Mexico, 5 Key Players to watch out for
Brazil and Mexico are all set to lock horns in the Round of 16 fixture of the ongoing FIFA World Cup in Russia. Brazil started their World Cup campaign with a draw against Switzerland but found their feet in the following games as they defeated Costa Rica and Serbia to top their group.
Mexico had a fairy tale start to their World Cup campaign as they defeated the defending champions, Germany in the opening game and played a pivotal role in Die Mannschaft's early exit from the World Cup. After winning their second game against South Korea, Mexico looked all set to win their group; however, a spectacular performance by Sweden on the final Matchday saw the Mexicans tumbling to a 3-0 defeat and losing out on the top spot.
Mexico have been eliminated at the Round of 16 in the past six World Cup campaigns whereas Brazil have exited the World Cup at Round of 16 stage only once which means the Mexicans would require another historical performance to proceed in this World Cup.
We now take a look at 5 key players who will play a vital role in Monday's Round of 16 clash between two highly talented sides:
#5 Hirving Lozano (Mexico)
The 22-year-old winger made his debut for Mexican senior national side on 10th February 2016 in a friendly game against Senegal, assisting Rodolfo Pizarro in the second goal as Mexico won 2-0. Since then Lozano has made 31 appearances for Mexico and has found the net 8 times.
Lozano was signed by Dutch Eredivisie side PSV Eindhoven on 19th June 2017 on a six-year contract. He scored 19 goals in 34 appearances for PSV in the 2017-18 season and won the Eredivisie title.
Playing on the left flank, right-footed Lozano has all the traits of a classic inverted winger. He has great power in his right foot and is an obvious danger in the opposition box when cutting and shooting from the left-hand side. He is quick with and without the ball and has great accuracy while shooting.
At the 2018 FIFA World Cup Lozano scored the only goal in Mexico's 1-0 victory over Germany and in Mexico's second game against South Korea, Lozano provided an assist to Javier Hernandez in scoring Mexico's second goal in their 2-1 victory.