Portugal – Mexico (Confederations Cup)
Defeated in the semi-finals against Chile and Germany, the national teams of Portugal and Mexico will face each other, this Sunday, to discuss the 3rd and 4th place in the Confederations Cup, with the match taking place at the Spartak Stadium, in Moscow. The portuguese national team were eliminated by Chile in a penalty shootout, failing their three penalties in a very disappointing way, with their performance in the match being bellow expectations as well. Mexico, on their turn, performed well against Germany but were trashed by 4-1, a result that doesn’t quite reflect what happened in the match.
Portugal had a good start in the competition and improved their performances game by game, having their best performance in the last match of the group stage against New Zealand, and qualified for the semi-finals as leader of Group A, holding the record of the team with more goals scored and less goals conceded. However, it was on the semi-finals, against Chile, that the portuguese side fell short of expectations, showing a low fighting spirit and was only able of creating one or two scoring chances during the 120 minutes.
The greatest disappointment was actually in the penalty shootout, with Claudio Bravo defending the first three penalties, shot by Quaresma, Moutinho and Nani, ending the portuguese dream of conquering another trophy. For this match, the coach Fernando Santos will not have the team captain Cristiano Ronaldo, since he has been given special leave to see his newborn sons, and the portuguese coach can make a few alterations on the starting XI. In the first time they face each other in the competition, Portugal had a disappointing performance, but Fernando Santo’s men will want to leave this competition with a victory.
In their 4 matches in this competition, Portugal has a record of 2 victories and 2 draws. This sequence of results started with a 2-2 draw against Mexico. This result was followed by 0-1 win against Russia, a 0-4 win against New Zealand, and in their last match, a 0-0 draw against Chile. Raphael Guerreiro is out due to injury.
Probable Lineup: Patricio – Nelson Semedo, Pepe, Fonte and Eliseu – Danilo Pereira, Pizzi, Bernardo Silva and Quaresma – André Silva and Nani.
Mexico, on their turn, had a different semi-final, since after qualifying as 2nd placed in the Group A, the same as Portugal, and found a young german national team and ended up defeated by 4-1, reaching the 8th minuto of the first half already losing by 2-0. However, the final result doesn’t reflect what really happened during the match, with the Tricolor being the team who had more ball possession, more chances created and more shots on target, but they lacked in efficiency, and the germans not, which is what really matters.
The mexicans have a talented players and are a national team that have been practicing a good football throughout the competition, with the defensive organization being their Achilles’s heel, something that was very clear against Germany. From the midfield forward, the team can easily reach the opponents penalty area, having experient midfielders with good game vision and fast and talented forwards, although the team have to improve their finalization power.
In their 4 matches in this competition, Mexico has a record of 2 victories, 1 draw and 1 defeat. This sequence of results started with a 2-2 draw against Portugal. This result was followed by a 2-1 win over New Zealand, a 2-1 win against Russia, and a 4-1 defeat against Germany. Carlos Salcedo is out due to injury.
Probable Lineup: Ochoa – Reyes, Moreno, Araújo and Layún – Jonathan dos Santos, Herrera and Guardado – Vela, Chicharito and Lozano.
Portugal won 2 of the last 3 direct confronts in the last 11 years, drawing the remaining.
Portugal
|
2-2 |
Mexico
|
Confederations Cup 2017
|
Portugal
|
1-0 |
Mexico
|
Friendly Match 2014
|
Portugal
|
2-1 |
Mexico
|
Germany 2006
|
Expect a match similar to the their first match in this competition, with both teams having players talented enough to create several scoring chances in the opponents goal.