This was not written in the script but for Mexican stopper, Guillermo Ochoa who threw up a ‘˜force field’ around his goal as a stubborn Mexico frustrated Brazil on Tuesday evening.
This was not written in the script but for Mexican stopper, Guillermo Ochoa who threw up a ‘force field’ around his goal as a stubborn Mexico frustrated Brazil on Tuesday evening to earn a 0-0 draw and keep the Group A widely open. The Mexican stopper pulled off an incredible diving stop from a Neymar header and a series of other incredible saves, holding up Brazil’s march toward qualification.
The 28-year-old produced a ‘man of the match’ performance as Mexico thwarted away a string of Brazilian attacks and as a result of which leaves the El Tri level with Brazil on four points from two games. Brazilian Paulinho, Neymar and Thiago Silva all came close of securing a vital win but were thwarted away by Ochoa. Brazilian skipper Thiago Silva almost stole the match in the dying minutes but the Mexican keeper parried away his point-blank header.
While Ochoa grabbed the headlines for all the right reasons, Brazil finished the game relieved to have earned a point. Opponents Mexico had several late chances to score a shock upset, but Luis Felipe Scolari will be grateful to his own goalkeeper Julio Cesar for keeping the match goalless.
The draw maintained Mexico’s impressive recent record against Brazil following their shock victory in the final of the London Olympics football tournament in 2012.
Thus, the 0-0 draw brought to an end Brazil’s 10-match winning streak, dating back to August 2013. It also meant that if both the teams are to advance further in the tournament, points are a must from their final group games when Brazil faces Cameroon in Brasilia while Mexico entertains Croatia in Recife. It’s a fight to the finish for these two teams!
