Mexico Heartbreak in World Cup Knockout
World Cup, Russia — Brazil stormed into the World Cup quarterfinals with its third straight shutout victory on Monday, picking apart Mexico, 2-0, on goals by Neymar and Roberto Firmino.
The defeat, and the stage for it, will be sadly familiar for Mexico. It departs the tournament in its first knockout-round game for the seventh straight World Cup a stunning run of bad losses, bad matchups and just plain bad luck.
It can have no complaints about its loss to Brazil, though the Brazilians were the better team, and looked fresher even at the end. Neymar opened the scoring in the 51st minute, sliding in to tap home a ball served in precisely by Willian.
Brazil are a great team, they’re the best team in the world,” Mexico’s coach, Juan Carlos Osorio, had said on the eve of the game. The Brazilians showed him why substitute Roberto Firmino added the clincher in the 88th minute on a carbon copy goal: this time it was Neymar who burst in on the left, and Firmino who sneaked into the goal mouth to turn the ball home.
Neymar, Willian and Coutinho ran elaborate weaves through the Mexico defense, and whenever Mexico tried to break out, Brazil’s defensive core Casemiro, backed by Thiago Silva and Miranda closed them down before they could cause any trouble.
Brazil advanced to a Friday quarterfinal in Kazan against the winner of Monday’s Belgium-Japan game.
Brazil’s victory was its third straight 2-0 win since opening the tournament with a disappointing 1-1 tie against Switzerland. But Costa Rica, Serbia and now Mexico have fallen before the Brazilians in order, and with Neymar scoring and Philippe Coutinho creating and a back four allowing almost nothing, the five-time World Cup champions will be a tough out now.
For Mexico, a familiar feeling has set in.“I’d like to say once again that being able to play at such a level against Brazil showed that Mexico is a good team,” Osorio said after the match. “We were just lacking a little efficiency, a little quality.”
If he did have one complaint, however, it was with the Italian referee, Gianluca Rocchi. Osorio suggested that Rocchi had given too much deference to Neymar, who fell theatrically several times during the game. One such fall, in the first half, produced a yellow card for Mexico’s Edson Alvarez. Another, on the sideline late in the game, left Neymar writhing in pain next to the Brazil bench. Replays showed there was some cause for the display Mexico’s Miguel Layun, unseen by the referee, had stepped on Neymar’s ankle. But the nature of Neymar’s reactions seemed to irk Osorio.
“There was very little contact,” he said, generalizing about many of the fouls against Neymar, “and every singe time the referee stops the game.”
If it seemed like sour grapes, it probably was. Mexico had arrived at the World Cup with its best team in years, and a win over Germany in its opener had raised hopes that Mexico could make a deep run.After 56 games the World Cup 2018 is down to its final eight teams.
As with all knockout rounds at the World Cup if a match is level at the end of 90 minutes it will go to extra time for another 30 minutes. If there is no winner then, the tie is decided on penalties.
Brazil facing Belgium on Saturday.
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