Live commentary: Brazil - Mexico 0:0 (World Cup 2014 Brazil, Group A)

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Slideshow World Cup 2014 Brazil Group A, Brazil - Mexico

Brazil	Tuesday, 17. June 2014 20:00 Clock	Mexico
	0:0

goals
none

90'		Endgame Summary: The draw blows the group wide open as all four teams still have a chance to advance to the last 16. That's certainly not what Brazil was hoping for, but today Guillermo Ochoa proved to be too much for Neymar and company. The goalkeeper brilliantly denied several dangerous efforts from close range and frustrated the hosts throughout. Mexico's performance as a whole shouldn't be discounted as well, El Tri started the second half dominantly but overall had to settle for too many ranged shots. We wrap things up in Fortaleza and hope you are going to join us for coverage of the third match today. Stay tuned!
90'		Full-Time
90'		Both teams are fighting till the last minute, but time is running out and the final whistle blows.
90'		Jiménez has space on the right and forces a save from Júlio César with his shot to the bottom right corner. The danger continues as Hernández nearly manages to get to the rebound.
90'		180 seconds of stoppage time are added.
90'		This is looking to be a wild finish as Mexico also tries to go for the win! Guardado drifts in from the right and fires a swerving effort that flies inches over the crossbar.
88'		And they try it again! Marcelo dives and is looking at the referee, but the Turk rightfully waves it off. What a disgrace!
87'		The goalkeeper certainly makes a strong bid for player of the match, incredible performance by the No.13.
86'		Ochoa fights for his clean sheet! Neymar delivers a free-kick from the left side and the keeper reacts brilliantly against a close-range Thiago header.
85'		Both managers bring on fresh offensive legs for the last minutes. Can one of the teams pull off the lucky punch?
84'		Substitution (in) Brazil -> Willian
84'		Substitution (out) Brazil -> Oscar
84'		Substitution (in) Mexico -> Raúl Jiménez
84'		Substitution (out) Mexico -> Giovani Dos Santos
81'		Neymar leads the counterattack for Brazil and pokes the ball to a starting Jô, but Guillermo Ochoa picks up the ball in the box in front of the striker.
80'		Giovani Dos Santos fires the effort into the wall. The Villarreal player can't build in his strong performance against Cameroon today.
79'		Thiago Silva (Brazil) is shown a yellow card The centre back gives away a dangerous free-kick 25 yards in front of the goal.
78'		Can the guests facilitate some late offense themselves or will they try to settle for the draw?
78'		After some minutes of wild offense for Brazil following the Neymar chance, the substitutions have cooled down the play a bit.
77'		Then next change for Mexico is about strengthening the midfield in the last quarter of the game.
76'		Substitution (in) Mexico -> Marco Fabián
76'		Substitution (out) Mexico -> Héctor Herrera
75'		Jô evades the offside trap of Mexico and receives the ball from Bernard, but well misses the aimed far post with his shot from a tight angle.
75'		Just like against Cameroon Chicharito again gets about 15 minutes as replacement for Oribe Peralta.
74'		Substitution (in) Mexico -> Javier Hernández
74'		Substitution (out) Mexico -> Oribe Peralta
73'		Bernard whips in a cross in search of Jô, but the striker can't rise high enough.
71'		This could be the start of a frantic finish of the home side, who continues to push forward.
69'		Neymar comes close to his third goal of the tournament! The star picks up the ball at the far post after a cross from the left and forces yet another great save by Ochoa, who blocks the shot form eight yards towards the right corner of the goal! Dani Alves picks up the rebound but his cross is deflected to a corner.
68'		Scolari tries another forward and sends on the Mineiro striker for a lackluster Fred, who still hears it from the crowd for his dive in game one.
68'		Substitution (in) Brazil -> Jô
68'		Substitution (out) Brazil -> Fred
66'		Bernard has room in transition, but is intercepted as he tries to slip it to Fred on the right side.
65'		This is more and more looking like the subpar performance against Croatia from the hosts. Luiz Felipe Scolari might want to add another change to get his team going.
63'		The superstar curls the effort wide and Ochoa had the shot covered anyway.
62'		José Juan Vázquez (Mexico) is shown a yellow card Neymar draws the foul and will probably take the free-kick from 35 yards himself.
61'		Giovani Dos Santos tries to chase down a long ball on the right side, but can't quite keep it in play.
60'		As another shot goes wide for Mexico, the home fans start to become a little bit impatient with their inferior side.
59'		Paul Aguilar (Mexico) is shown a yellow card The first Mexican is booked for a rough challenge on Bernard.
57'		That was close! Mexico builds up on the left and finds Héctor Herrera at the edge of the box, who fires a ferocious left-footed effort just over the crossbar.
56'		Mexico is controlling possession in the last minutes and is keeping Brazil occupied in its own half.
54'		The guests can't penetrate the penalty area, but they are getting closer with efforts from deep. This time it's Vázquez who hammers the ball from 30 yards for El Tri just inches over the goal.
53'		Andrés Guardado sees his shot sailing over the crossbar after it got a deflection off Thiago's head.
51'		Mexico has trouble establishing themselves in this half so far, but it's not hard to imagine that the Herrera side is perfectly content with a point against the favorite.
49'		Bernard goes to work quickly and breaks free down the right side. He whips the ball dangerously towards Neymar, but Maza intercepts before the superstar.
48'		Scolari is very engaged on the sideline handing out instructions.
47'		Thiago Silva catches Rafael Márquez with a rough challenge and the captain is shaken up for a moment, but can continue without medical treatment.
46'		Although Brazil were able to create danger, their play still lacked the pace that you need to continuously challenge a disciplined Mexican side.
46'		Ramires couldn't satisfy Scolari as Hulk replacement and in search of more offensive power the manager choses Bernard as second half winger.
46'		Substitution (in) Brazil -> Bernard
46'		Substitution (out) Brazil -> Ramires
46'		Second Half begins
45'		Halftime Summary: The hosts looked more lively than in their first 90 minutes against Croatia and could create more clear chances, but Mexican keeper Ochoa frustrated Brazil with fine saves throughout the half. Although Mexico is occupied with defensive tasks, they were able to get some dangerous shots onto Júlio César as well and added to the excitement of the match. Stay tuned!
45'		Half-Time
45'		Ramires (Brazil) is shown a yellow card The first player goes into the book as the Chelsea man brings down Aguilar on the right wing.
43'		Ochoa saves again! We're still level because the Mexican continues his superb goalkeeping. A free-kick from midfield somehow slips past the Mexican line and suddenly three unmarked yellow appear in front of the keeper, but Ochoa makes the block.
42'		Mexico continues to search for their opportunities up front. Vazquez finds himself at the edge of the box on the left side and aims for the far post, but his effort curls wide.
40'		Luiz Gustavo is shaken up after an aerial clash with Herrera. The midfielder looks fine to continue though.
38'		Both centre backs of Brazil have the freedom to operate in the Mexican half. This time it's David Luiz who starts the build-up, but the ensueing Marcelo shot isn't convincing.
37'		That said, set-pieces on both sides could be better executed as Mexico doesn't get anything out of a free-kick from the left side. Layún blasts the rebound well wide from the edge of the box.
35'		The two resulting corners from No.10 cause no headache for Mexico, the first one is cleared away by Herrera and Fred heads the second straight to Ochoa.
33'		Neymar uses his tremendous pace to cut to the middle from the right, but is surrounded by multiple defenders and can't bully through.
31'		Not much to say about Dos Santos so far, but now he shows some skill as he loses David Luiz but is eventually stopped by Thiago Silva in midfield.
29'		Oscar tries his luck from distance, but this one sails easily into Ochoa's gloves.
28'		The pace is starting to pick up in an entertaining encounter.
26'		Great save from Ochoa! Neymar finds himself on the receiving end of an Alves cross and powers the header towards the left corner of the goal. The keeper dives, just gets a hand on the ball before it crosses the goal line and clears it away. That was the best chance so far.
24'		Now it's Herrera with an almost perfect strike from 30 yards, which sails just over the crossbar. Júlio César might have gotten a piece of it, but there is no corner given.
22'		Mexico is starting to make some noise in the Brazilian box, Peralta withstands challenges from both Marcelo and Thiago Silva, but his shot is blocked by the recovering PSG defender.
21'		Fred operates at the edge of the Mexican defensive line, but is caught offside once again after Ramires' pass.
20'		Mexico overall has little trouble defending, but can't get out on the break either.
17'		Although Brazil controls the game, they fail to create clear goalscoring opportunities. That was also the main problem against Croatia in their shaky start into the tournament.
15'		Nonetheless the guests could use some relief right now, they currently can barely get out of their half.
13'		Brazil gradually manages to apply more pressure on the Mexican side. In a wild scene inside the penalty box Herrera's men fail to clear the ball away multiple times, but the hosts can't get a clear chance out of the chaos.
11'		Marcelo releases Oscar down the left side and the Chelsea man picks out Fred at the six yard box, but the forward is offside and so his hit into the side netting doesn't matter.
9'		The hosts start to control possession in the midfield and have managed to temper a somewhat energetic start of Mexico.
7'		Neymar accidentally is tackled by his own Fred on his way into the box. Seconds later Brazil gets its first free-kick though, but poorly executed it's blocked by the defensive wall.
6'		Brazil tries to establish themselves in the Mexican half, a Ramires delivery from the right wing is intercepted and eventually cleared away.
5'		Miguel Layún catches Luiz Gustavo with yet another late challenge and the referee might reach into his pocket early if this continues.
4'		The Seleção finds themselves around their own penalty area early on. Mexico does a great job keeping the ball in opposing territory.
3'		The first set-pieces belong to Mexico but crosses off a free-kick and a corner can't find teammates in the middle.
3'		It will surely be interesting whether Mexico choses a physical game against the finesse Brazilians to force them out of their comfort zone.
2'		Mexico starts out aggressively with two late challenges and the Turkish referee has to moderate between discussing sides for the first time.
1'		We are underway in Fortaleza! The hosts are wearing their traditional yellow while Mexico is sporting red jerseys.
1'		Kick-Off
		Both anthems are sang passionately, the atmosphere is truly magnificent.
		Teams are coming out and the national anthems are being played.
		After the fatal errors of the officiating crews in this group all eyes will certainly be on referee Cüneyt Çakır and his assistants today, so let's hope the Turk will handle the pressure well.
		Both sides have little reason to change, but Luiz Felipe Scolari has to replace Hulk, who failed a late fitness test and will miss the match. Chelsea's Ramires takes over on the right wing. It also means that Chicharito remains on the bench and will have to wait for his chance as super-substitute. The Mexican superstar voiced frustration about his current role but there is little prospect of him being used differently if the team continues to be successful.
		The full lineups can be found here.
		The fight on the wings will be key today as Brazil likes to work the flanks. Mexico's full backs Paul Aguilar and Miguel Layún were never challenged against a conservative Cameroon side, but that will likely change against the attacking minded opposition. On the other side Luiz Gustavo and company will have to find ways to limit mobile striker Giovani Dos Santos, who could cause problems in transition after a strong showing in the first game.
		Meanwhile Mexico has their own story to tell about officiating as two regular Dos Santos goals were ruled out by referee Roldán against Cameroon with dubious offside decisions. Despite this obstacle Mexico deservingly went on to win the game convincingly, but nonetheless starts today's game as clear underdog. Refael Marquez knows the key to the game will be containing superstar Neymar, who was one of the bright spots against Croatia. The Mexico captain said they had to be fast and reduce spaces on the pitch.
		It will be all but certain that a victor tonight will reach the last 16 and for both sides it would be a relieving to enter the last match of the group stage without much pressure. Scolari's side started the tournament slow against a defensively well-organized Croatian team and needed a disgraceful Fred dive to get things going on Thursday. Today the Seleção would be better off not relying for a Nishimura-esque misjudgment and create more chances themselves.
		Jansoch Ferda is commentating for you. Enjoy!
		Welcome to the start of the second round of group stage in Fortaleza! After opening wins the hosts and Mexico are seeking for a major step towards the knockout stage.