Mexico’s campaign is back on the right track after recording a heart-stopping 2-1 win over New Zealand on Wednesday. It was a huge bounce-back victory for El Tri who climbed into first place in the Group A table with four points to their name. Mexico’s triumph wouldn’t be possible without the heroics of Raul Jimenez and Oribe Peralta. Jimenez and Peralta scored the critical second-half goals that propelled Mexico to the come-from-behind victory.
Mexico wouldn’t have landed in that precarious situation, though, if they just respected the opposition on Wednesday. Manager Juan Carlos Osorio made a whopping eight changes to the side which drew 2-2 with Portugal on Sunday. The team looked disjointed as a result of those changes as the understudies fluffed their lines in a poor first-half display. Fortunately for Osorio, Javier Aquino stood tall in the second half as his two assists tilted the match in Mexico’s favor.
He’s expected to once again play a crucial part for Mexico in their final group game against Russia. A draw in this contest should be enough for El Tri to see them through to the knock-out phase. For Mexico to grab at least a point against Russia, they will need to dominate the possession game once again. They controlled 65 percent of the possession in their win against New Zealand. That helped Mexico establish a 22-11 advantage in shot attempts and an 11-4 edge in the shots on target department against the All Whites.
Russia’s Confederations Cup campaign is definitely hanging in the balance after enduring a frustrating 1-0 loss to Portugal on Wednesday. It was superstar Cristiano Ronaldo who delivered the killer blow against them with a stunning header in the eighth minute. As a result of that defeat, the hosts now sit in third place in Group A with just three points to their name.
With Russia now faced with a must-win situation against Mexico, they have no other choice but to attack El Tri. The onus then is on Fedor Smolov to carry the scoring cudgels for Russia in this match. The 27-year-old has been on fire over the past two years, scoring 55 goals in all competitions including Russia’s lone goal in this tournament. He agonizingly missed a late chance against Portugal, however, that could have salvaged a draw for Russia. The hosts as a whole were rather wasteful in that said encounter with Russia producing no shots on target. That simply won’t do against Mexico this coming weekend.
Writer’s Prediction
Russia (+195) barge into the final four with a shock 1-0 win over Mexico.
