This duel in the round of sixteen was somehow expected, because the Brazilians were the first in their group, and the Mexicans second in their group, however, there were certain ups and downs in their games during the group stage, which thankfully did not cost them placement in the knockout stage. Brazil had two identical victories after the opening draw, but there was no spectacular football, while Mexico after two introductory triumphs, one of which happened over Germany, disappointed completely in the third round, but they still managed to qualify in the round of sixteen. In the past World Cup, these two teams played a goalless match in the group stage, while one year later Brazil celebrated with 2-0 in a friendly match.
It can be said that Brazil has routinely done the easiest part of the job, because they have passed the group stage of the World Cup in a way that they won the first place in the group, which of course was quite expected. Their toughest rival was the first one and that was Switzerland with which they expectedly had the most problems, so they had to contend with a draw – 1-1. There was no panic, because in the second round they played with Costa Rica and they expected an easy victory, however, it was much harder than they hoped for. It was as if they thought the victory would come by itself and they have played the first half in easy pace. They got a little nervous in the second, but then there was a series of missed opportunities, and so they came to injury time, in which they finally scored two goals for the victory.
With four points on the account, it was much easier to play against Serbia, especially since a draw was enough for placement in the finals. They did not shine in that match, however, they have scored the leading goal in the first half over Paulinho and they had the biggest crisis at the opening of the second part when the opponent pressed them a little bit. They managed to save their net and then T.Silva set the final result after the break. The worst part of this game is the injury of left back Marcelo and his performance is now questionable, so Filipe Luis jumps instead. Because of the injuries, Danilo and D.Costa had to miss the match with Serbia.
Probable lineups Brazil: Alisson – Fagner, T.Silva, Miranda, Filipe Luis – Casemiro – Paulinho, Coutinho, Willian, Neymar – G.Jesus
Mexico has once again managed to go through a group stage in one World Cup, and it should be mentioned once again that this team has at least reached the round of sixteen in this big competition. The problem is that they usually got eliminated at this stage, and definitely their odds are not too big, given the strength of their opponents. But they are guilty of such a thing because the competition in Russia started in the best possible way, defeating the current world champion Germany with 1-0 in the first round. It was a big surprise, which actually created a break in the group, but for Mexicans it was most important that they in the second round justified the role of favourites against South Korea. And they managed to even celebrate with 2-1, so with six points they were the group leaders and there seemed to be no problem with the placement in the round of sixteen, though they did not have a completely relaxed situation.
They needed at least a draw with Sweden to secure their first place, however, they played very badly in this duel, and in the first half there were no goals, while they were completely outplayed in the second and defeated with 3-0. This was the result because of which they had no control in their hands, but South Korea has won Germany to the general surprise and thus sent Mexico to play with Brazil. They can therefore thank the Koreans for that, but also regret that they lost the first place that would bring them Switzerland as a rival. This way, they are meeting with Brazil against which they never scored any goals in the world championships in four duels, and they will be weakened by the absence of center-back Moreno, so Ayala will probably jump instead. Maybe after a bad game against Sweden, coach Osorio makes another change.
Probable lineups Mexico: Ochoa – Alvarez, Salcedo, Ayala, Gallardo – Herrera, Guardado – Layun, Vela, Lozano – Chicharito
Brazil has not shined yet, but they have not lost any matches and are certainly the favourites against Mexico who showed two faces, however, we believe that after a very bad game against Sweden, they can again play well and finally score a goal against Brazil at the World Cup.
Pick: both teams to score
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