Brazil Vs. Mexico: Dos Santos And Chicharito Lead El Tri To Win

Brazil were repeatedly denied clear goals or penalties by Petrescu and his assistants. Leandro Damiao had a good goal disallowed for offside in the 10th minute and Hulk had a very clear penalty shout denied in the 20th minute. The officiating crew’s second half errors were just as egregious. In the 53rd minute, Jose Corona hacked down Oscar in the box, but inexplicably no penalty was given.

Even with the decisions that went against them, Brazil had plenty of chances to score, but couldn’t make the most of them. Pato came on as a substitute in the 61st minute and it didn’t take him long to miss an absolute sitter. They hit the target on five occasions as well, but Corona had a very good game in goal for Mexico and made a couple of excellent saves late in the game.

Update: Mexico 2-0 Brazil, final score

Hulk and Leandro Damiao have done enough to create a couple of goals for Brazil, but neither stood. Damiao had a good goal disallowed for offside in the 10th minute when he was very clearly on, while Hulk was denied a clear penalty shout in the 20th minute. He blew by ‘Maza’ Francisco Rodriguez in the 20th minute and was tripped, but the referee didn’t see a foul. This proved to be decisive two minutes later.

80,000 plus fans at Cowboys Stadium sure liked that. Millions more around the world will too when they see the highlights online and on their TV’s. Maybe Redknapp has one of those glowing picture boxes too and can see this? If not then there are plenty of other clubs around the world who will jump at the opportunity to sign him and, gasp, play him.

(Hat tip to 101 Great Goals for the video).

Brazil is, well Brazil. They seemingly invented style and flair and with Leandro Damiao, Hulk and Neymar in their front three, attacking won’t be too much of a problem for them. They will have their chances going forward and could very well put together a highlight reel in this one match alone.

So a sold out crowd, check. Brilliant attacking play, might as well guarantee it.

Some of de la Torre’s best options for the center of midfield aren’t available against Brazil because they’re with the Under-23 team, but post-Olympics, he’d do well to bring one or two of those players into the team. Hector Herrera had an excellent Toulon Tournament with the Under-23 side, while Jorge Enriquez has performed very well at Under-20 and Under-23 level, as well as for his club team Chivas. He also has some other talented, but currently out of form (and out of squad) options in Jonathan Dos Santos and David Cabrera.

Jesus Molina is currently with the Mexico squad, but he hasn’t gotten a shot at playing with Zavala yet. Zavala, the massive and versatile 24-year-old Monterrey star, seems to be locked into one place in Chepo’s midfield of the future. He needs to work on finding the other piece now, before Mexico starts playing competitive matches against good opposition. Molina might not be the answer, but it’s time for him to get a three-game run. Perez and Salcido are, without a doubt, not going to be de la Torre’s best midfield options going forward.