The world would get its second glimpse at host nation and tournament favorites Brazil, as the 6th day of the tournament would start the 2nd round of group play for the SeleçĂŁo. The sun shone bright on the Estadio Castelao in Fortaleza as Mexico looked to disrupt the party and break Brazilian hearts.
The game would start out ugly, with Barcelona’s Neymar taking an apparent hit from Club Leon midfielder Jose Vazquez. There was not much in it and both sets of players early on tried to rush the Turkish referee Cuneyt Cakir in protest. (Chelsea fans will remember Mr. Cakir from that historic night in 2012 at the Camp Nou in Barcelona.
To the referee’s credit on this night he had a very solid game, waving off the early protests of both teams in the first half and setting a tone early that he wasn’t going to give out cheap cards for 50/50 challenges and embellished knocks. Had a more timid referee been in control of this match a cheap yellow card early on may have set the tone for a few sending offs.
Chelsea midfielders Oscar and Ramires would both get the start for Brazil, with former CFC and newly minted PSG defender David Luiz also featuring throughout the entire 90.
Brazil looked set to continue their campaign the same as they had left it against Croatia 5 days earlier with Oscar’s run down the left side providing a minor glimpse of their attacking prowess before being easily dealt with by the Mexican defense.
The hard tackles would continue, as this time Brazil and Barcelona fullback Dani Alves would be the guilty party as he went in hard on Bayer Leverkusen defender Andres Guardado in the 13th minute.
The first half would continue with Brazil controlling much of the possession with Mexico displaying an occasional flash of pressure in their attacking 3rd. Both teams would continue on in this style throughout the first half and head into the locker room with the score level at 0.
Ramires would pick up the first yellow card of the game for his foul committed on the right wing against Club America defender Paul Aguilar who had fooled the Chelsea man with a deft touch away before forcing the contact and winning a free kick. Subsequently, Ramires was pulled off at halftime for 21 year old Shakhtar Donetsk forward Bernard.
In what would go on to become only the 2nd scoreless draw through 15 games at this edition of the World Cup, the 2nd half would provide an entertainment and attacking game style that would be a stark contrast to the drab effortless draw played out by Iran and Nigeria in Curitiba a day before.
Mexican goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa would put on a performance worthy of his Man of the Match award as he would repel chance after chance from Brazil, with the best coming off corner kicks delivered by Neymar in the direction of PSG’s Thiago Silva at the six yard box. Silva’s headers were put on target at point blank range but great reactions and reflexes by Ochoa would prove vital in securing the result for Mexico.
Both teams would finish off with similar amounts of shots, with Brazil doing a better job with on target attempts at 8 to 3. Ochoa would repel all advances from the Brazilians as they looked to increase the tempo, while his counterpart Julio Cesar made sure that the host nation avoided the embarrassment of defeat at home and made some quality saves of his own to deny El Tri the shock victory.
There would be a Chelsea for Chelsea substitution late in the 84th minute as Oscar would come off to be replaced by Willian. Oscar was forced out most of the game into wider positions and the style of play on the night didn’t suit him as well as it had 5 days earlier in Sao Paulo.
Willian would come on and provide a dangerous pace down the wings and ran straight at the Mexican defense, but it would be too little too late as the game came to a close and both teams shared the points to leave Group A open and undecided.
