With two Latin American teams vying for the top spots in Group A, this
should be a beautiful game in every sense of the word. The match will take
place in Fortaleza on June 19, 16:00 local time.
Brazil should have little trouble making it to the top this year,
considering that (1) they’re the defending Confederations Cup champions; (2)
they’ve had enough time to prepare as hosts; and (3) they have plenty of
talented players on board.
Conversely, the pressure’s on Mexico to keep up with its group mates:
Brazil, Italy, and Japan. If Mexico can put up a good fight on June 16 against
Italy, it will be perfectly poised to take on Brazil.
On an individual basis, both teams are evenly matched. Javier Hernandez
could easily give Neymar a run for his money, as the latter shows great
potential but has churned out inconsistent performances as of late.
Likewise, it can be argued that Mexico’s goalkeeper Jose de Jesus
Corona was singlehandedly responsible for bringing the CONCACAF championship to
his country, so the matchup between him and Brazil’s Thiago Silva and Julio
Cesar would be a treat to watch.
Finally, we have Mexico’s midfielders Pablo Barrera and Andres Guardado
versus Brazil’s Maurinho. Maurinho has a strength and stamina that’s uncommon
in midfielders, and being under the radar most of the time, he can make deadly
pot-shots at the goal when his Mexican counterparts least expect it.
In any case, expect this match to be one that only Latin Americans can
deliver: clean yet fun to watch. Also, it may be a draw or a win in favor of
Brazil on this one.
Photo credit: Sergio Savarese from Sao Paulo City / Ipiranga, Brasil
(Fotos Sergio Savarese (17)) [CC-BY-SA-2.0
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
0 comments:
Post a Comment