Brillant. Well done to the referee for not handing Brazil a penalty. Marcelo was appealing before he hit the ground!
Vertongen's performance has further convinced me that his view of his abilities (should be play CL football etc.) far exceeds his performances...really hope we sell the arrogant cock
That has to be the save of the competition so far, brilliant save. Now we are beginning to see the real Brazil without the referee on their side. Yes they attacked better and Mexico really only came in to it in the last few minutes but for all their industry they couldn't break through. Now I know it's wrong to talk should have beens but the match against Croatia should have been a 2-2 draw with a cheated penalty and a goal disallowed. Brazil should read played 2 drawn 2, 2 for and 2 against. Without the ref we are seeing their true form. Sorry Lenny?
Paulinho was absolutely anonymous. He looks like his confidence is absolutely shot. Fred, on the other hand, looked like he couldn't be bothered at all. Should've been dropped after the first game, but he did nothing and didn't look like he was trying.
Bit rich of Lineker to mention "utter disgust in the studio" about Marcello when you have Hand of Henry there.
One aspect which is irritating, is hearing commentators say "teams need to up the tempo" if it was that easy to "up the tempo" then teams would be, its not simple just to increase the speed (in the heat out there) and play fast attacking football for sustained periods, which is why we're seeing alot of counter attacking goals as its easier to sit back, conserve energy and strike on the break.
Just didn't see that as a great attacking performance. And anyone was dithering it was the. Brazilians, not the hard-working Mexicans. Draw a fair result I thought. And another Spurs-like performance from a still-disappointing Paulinho.
"Shearer "playing offside that deep was lazy". No Alan, its called clever defending!" He would have loved the Brasil 82 team then. Their back four on a few occasions caught opponents offside near the halfway line.
Why are the commentators trying to tell us how great Brazil are? Quite simply, they aren't - they take to the pitch thinking the shirt is worth a 1-0 lead, but both Croatia and Mexico have shown that it isn't, instead it's conning referees that's worth a 1-0 lead to this team. Next, isn't it about time that the commentators learned that not every Brazil team is on the level of the 1970 or 1982 version? For example, the 1994 team were dreary to watch and reliant on Romario to score the goals to get them through, and the 2010 squad was as dreary as the 1994 one but, as they didn't have a potent striker, they relied on the power of the shirt unnerving the opposition and diverting the ref's attention from the niggly fouls and casual cheating (just like the current side, then) Similarly, does anyone remember anything about the 1974, 1978, 1986 or 1990 Brazil teams? As for Paulinho, this article makes some potentially worrying points: http://cartilagefreecaptain.sbnation.com/2014/6/13/5806758/world-cup-2014-paulinho-brazil-croatia
They look quite far from the Confederations Cup squad. Did they peak in form too soon ?? Always a danger for any team. More so for a host nation. "does anyone remember anything about the 1974, 1978, 1986 or 1990 Brazil teams?" The 1986/1990 teams were quite meh. The 1978 team was good, and some may recall the 6-0 Argy win against Peru that put Brasil out (and smelt of match-fixing) .
The 1970 Brazil team, including Pele, Jairzinho, Rivelino, Tostao, et al is probably the most exciting team I have ever seen. The way they just contemptuously blew away a very competent Italy side in the final 4-1, was awesome.
Just found out the reason for Ochoa (the Mexcio Keeper) playing a blinder, he is available on a free transfer and looking for a club!