Brazil Had Many Chances Against Mexico But Did Not Prove Worthy as Candidate To Raise The Cup

Needing a tie against Brazil to nose ahead of Croatia in the race for second in Group A, Mexico duly got one, holding the Selecao to a 0-0 draw in Fortaleza. This was hardly a repeat of the tournament's other 0-0 scoreline, however — it was a thrilling ride that saw both teams create (and waste) great chances to go ahead.

How did El Tri manage to hold the favourites scoreless? It had a lot to do with the outstanding performance of 'Memo' Guillermo Ochoa in goal, but perhaps more to do with the Selecao's flaws, which are becoming more obvious by the game.

Brazil (4-2-3-1): Julio Cesar; Dani Alves, Thiago Silva, David Luiz, Marcelo; Luiz Gustavo, Paulinho; Oscar, Neymar, Ramires; Fred.

Mexico (3-5-2): 'Memo' Guillermo Ochoa; 'Maza' Francisco Rodriguez, Rafael Marquez, Hector Moreno; Paul Aguilar, Hector Herrera, Jose Vazquez, Andres Guardado, Miguel Layun; Giovani dos Santos, Oribe Peralta.

We've seen 3-5-2 versus 4-2-3-1 already in this tournament, and just like in the first half of Argentina's win over Bosnia-Herzegovina, the latter shape dominated play in the centre of the pitch but failed to find the net. That's probably where the similarities end, however. Alejandro Sabella's Argentina were looking to roll their opponents over, while here, Mexico's 3-5-2 was hoping to draw Brazil's fullbacks forward and hit them on the counterattack.

Ramires receiving a yellow card against Mexico, Photo credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports

With Hulk injured, Luiz Felipe Scolari had a selection dilemma on the right wing. He chose Chelsea midfielder Ramires for the role, overlooking the likes of Bernard and Willian — the latter is particularly amusing because Willian is a regular starter ahead of Ramires at club level — and that decision backfired rather spectacularly, with Ramires contributing little but a yellow card before being hauled off at halftime.

Oscar was fielded on the left wing but constantly drifted inside to help keep possession in midfield, resolving one major issue from the Croatia game, but at the same time Oscar's movement left Brazil without a genuine threat on the left barring Marcelo's runs up the pitch — it was a sacrifice of control in the centre for attacking penetration. Against Croatia, Oscar attempted seven crosses as a right winger, but here he only tried three.

Brazil dominated possession, and despite Mexico coming close a number of times with speculative long-range efforts, it was clear which side was on top of the match: the hosts created the bulk of the real scoring chances, and Mexico (perhaps surprisingly, considering 

Dani Alves' aggressive positioning) weren't able to work any of the flank overloads that had served them so well against Cameroon. El Tri's first and only shot from inside the penalty area came in the 78th minute, by which point Memo Ochoa had made half a dozen saves.