Guatemala beat Costa Rica 1-0; Carlos Ruiz with the goal. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/match/_/id/342143?cc=5739
Colombia 7-1 Guyana (closed-door game) http://www.guysportsdevelopment.com/jaguarsdefeatedcolombia.html Santa Fe (COL) 1-1 Guyana http://www.guyanachronicle.com/site...-colombian-club-team&catid=12:sports&Itemid=4
Mexico leading Brazil 2-0 so far in the 35th minute. Giovanni Two Saints with a goal from a weird angle (Think Landycakes in 2002 vs. Portugal, just without a deflection), then the Little Pea converts a penalty
Is Bob Bradley their new coach? Bunker ball at its finest here. Atleast the US attempted to play toe to toe. I never wanna hear them complain about the US bunkering against them ever again.
Well, this is not the best Brazilian team. Offensive is formidable for such a young team, but in defense it's inexperienced and disorganized. Mexico exploited what the USA could not.
Mexico has shown both better team and individual defense than the US did against Brazil. Neymar has been neutralized so far. Also Mexico plays out of the back much better than we do. Of course all of this could change in the second half. Mexico's possession and attack has been a bit disappointing. I think they spread the field too much, so in the smaller zonal/combination plays Brazil has had a numerical advantage. Mexico finally does not choke their PK against a good team. Ref is letting ALL contact above the waist go. Nothing violent so far, but Brazil is having a field day shoving Mexico off the ball. Looks like Mex is adjusting and upping their physical play.
Minute 60 and Mexico has only had 1 shot (penalty kick). First goal was a poor cross that went in. Brazil had a legitimate goal called back and a legitimate uncalled penalty. Possession is 66-34 Brazil
LOL you were saying? And so far the second half has been all Mexico dominating, with 3 goal chances and none from Brazil.
LOL, all that ball possession and I still can't remember a clear goal chance by Brazil other than that long range shot by number 10. It's a damn shame.
The thing that stands out is how absolutely not poised Brazil is when someone hits them in the mouth. Zero composure, zero killer instinct, tons of petulance and the show pony hasn't done jack. This Mexico side is the truth. They're going to be a pain in the ass this cycle.
I can see them topping the Hex, unless something big changes with the USA. PS: This ref allows Mexico to get away with everything.
Theres a difference between playing a Brazilian Olympic team in Dallas in a friendly, and playing El Salvador in El Cuscatlan in a Qualifier.. I wouldn't make any assumptions yet until I've seen them play the latter.. which they will after they walk over Guyana.
Brazil ran in to a team that is determined and playing comfortable in its own skin. Mexico's mid-to-fwd connection is poor but that is because they play 4 tough as nails defenders in the mid and just harass the heck out of Brazil. If enough passes go to forwards, one of them will be the killer, even if many of them just look terrible. Brazil had some 40 m passes that hit their forwards between the numbers but how many were there?
Brazil is great. Their long passes are just incredible. They just can't get anywhere against a team that wants it more than they do and playing just the way their manager said they could.
To the refs out there, wasn't the first goal offside on Chicharito? He jumped to play the ball in an offside position which distracted the keeper. 0:46
yup but it really didn't belong there. come join the party. WCQ are different animals from friendlies.
Mexico really isn't our competition in the Hex. They'll beat just about everyone so the other two automatic spots come down to the US, Costa Rica, Honduras, Panama, Jamaica, or whoever else makes it. Finishing first in the Hex doesn't give you any better position in the World Cup draw...you just have to make it through.
Not entirely true. Victories allow a team's World Ranking to go up, and the top eight ranked teams will have seeds atop the eight groups (Brazil will automatically have a seed, but they'll likely be a top eight team anyway.) Mexico is currently playing as well as any top ten team. Between the Confed Cup and a good showing in the Hex, they have a great chance of winning a seed for 2014. The US has a tendency to get drawn into a group of death or near group of death, largely because the US can never seem to get awarded a WC Seed.
Jeez Mexico beats Brazil and we can't even beat Canada. Pretty much show's who's boss of Concacaf. When's the Mexico friendly?