Italy Wins 2013 Confederation Cup Match with Mexico

For Andrea Pirlo, it was a sweet victory to cap off his 100^th international match.

Thanks to the dynamic duo of Pirlo and Mario Balotelli, Mexico bowed down to the Gli Azzurri 1:2 last June 16 (local time) at the Maracana.

In the first half, Balotelli made a kick powerful enough to hand the lead to the Italians. All throughout the game, the forward proved to be too much for the Mexicans’ defense to handle, though Jose Corona saved El Tri from getting phased out early with great saves on Balotelli.

Meanwhile, Javier Hernandez took advantage of an Andrea Barzagli foul on Giovani dos Santos to answer Balotelli’s efforts and earn Mexico its 1-1 win.

Corona was helpless against the 34-year-old Pirlo, whose top left-hand corner kick eluded the Mexican goalkeeper in the 26^th minute.

During the second half, defender Javier Aquino was replaced with Hiram Mier, and Gerardo Flores was moved into midfield. Meanwhile, the Italian side benched Claudio Marchisio for Alessio Cerci, while Emanuele Giaccherini moved to the center of the pitch and was instrumental in aiding Balotelli for Italy’s win.

The Gli Azzurri will face Japan next. Japan previously went against Brazil, and lost 3-0. 

Photo credit: Piotr Drabik on Flickr

Posted in: Confederations Cup 2013,Italy,Mexico