There has been plenty of talk of footballing
ghosts here for Brazil and the scariest one for
them is generally considered to be Uruguay,
what with 1950 and all that. But Mexico have
also put a few skeletons in the closet of the
World Cup hosts and they once again proved
irksome.
No team have fared better against Brazil over
the last 15 years than El Tri and they entered
this collision with seven wins and four losses
in 13 meetings. That did not include the
victory in the final of the 2012 Olympic Games,
ostensibly an under-23 game but arguably the
hardest one of all for Brazil to stomach.
Mexico departed with their record further
enhanced because this was not only a resilient
team performance but a hugely encouraging
result. The hero was the goalkeeper, Guillermo
Ochoa, who is a free agent after being released
by Ajaccio – the French club who finished
bottom of Ligue 1 last season to suffer
relegation.
Ochoa made a first-half save from Neymar that
drew the breath and towards the very end he
kept out Thiago Silva at point-blank range. In
between times, he blocked from Paulinho and
he denied Neymar again. It was quite a way to
put his club toils behind him and advertise his
talents to potential suitors.
Mexico struck repeatedly from distance to
worry if not truly extend Júlio César but the
Brazil goalkeeper was called upon in injury
time to preserve his team’s point with a stop
from the substitute Raúl Jiménez.
Brazil did not deserve to lose and they could
be happy enough with the draw, especially as
their final Group A tie looks easier than that
of Mexico. They face Cameroon while Mexico
must play Croatia. But the post-match
discussion centred upon whether Brazil had
shown or, indeed, possessed sufficient
creativity.
So much rests on Neymar in this department,
even if his body language betrays little sign of
the strain. He started in a central position and
he went through his repertoire of tricks, some
of which thrilled the crowd. The sharpness of
his turns on the ball can baffle defenders.
He did everything but score to emerge with
credit yet the worry took in the shortcomings
of what has to be termed as his supporting
cast. With Oscar peripheral, Ramires replaced
at half-time as a yellow card hung heavily over
him and Fred ineffective upfront, Neymar at
times looked like the only hope, although
right-back Dani Alves was in marauding mood.
There was little incision from central midfield.
Luiz Felipe Scolari, the manager, sought to
play up the positives, saying that his team had
played “10% better” than they had in victory
over Croatia in the opening game. He offered
praise to Mexico and to Ochoa, in particular,
and he noted that “one point can make the
difference” between reaching the last 16 or
not.
“We are getting better and better,” Scolari
said. “And we still have a way to go.” But he
was prickly as well, rounding on the media for
their critical line of questioning. “I have a
question for you,” he said, and it went
something along the lines of: “Why all the
negativity?” This, however, was an occasion
when the vociferous Mexico fans were by far
the happier.
It was an afternoon of sticky heat and
relentless intensity, with the tone having been
set by the outpouring of emotion during the
national anthems. Neymar could be seen
wiping away the tears. Brazil posed most of
the questions in the first half, with Neymar
and Dani Alves prominent. Neymar forced
Ochoa into the save of the night and, perhaps,
the tournament when he beat Rafael Márquez
to thump a header towards the bottom corner.
Ochoa flung himself across to claw to safety.
Paulinho had the big chance of the first half
on 44 minutes, after Thiago Silva had chested
Dani Alves’ free-kick into his path but Ochoa
was out smartly to block.
“I don’t know whether I can think of a better
goalkeeping performance,” Miguel Herrera, the
Mexico manager, said.
“[Jorge] Campos was
outstanding but ‘Memo’ made high-level saves.
It’s true that there was a doubt over his
starting position before the World Cup but he
has lived up to our expectations of him.”
Mexico’s work ethic and organisation was
matched by their tidiness in possession and
they knitted together pleasing moves, getting
the wing-backs forward and the midfielders
into shooting positions. José Juan Vázquez and
Héctor Herrera peppered Júlio César’s goal,
Guardado fizzed just over the crossbar and,
moments later, there was Júlio César’s save
from Jiménez’s blast.
Brazil had summoned a late surge. Neymar
chested down the substitute Bernard’s cross in
the 70th minute before working Ochoa while
another substitute, Jo, dragged wide of the far
post.
The most gilt-edged chance fell to Thiago
Silva. The Brazil captain, who had earlier
trodden on Márquez, was booked for scything
through the Mexico substitute, Javier
Hernández, but glory beckoned for him when
he attacked Neymar’s free-kick. All alone, he
seemed certain to score and his header was
firm. Ochoa, though, stood tall.
SOURCE - TheGuardian
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