For one match that mattered yesterday, it took more than 70 minutes to heat up. But when Croatia vs. Mexico took off, it was blazing. Mexico carried the majority of chances into the second half, however, they were unable to beat Stipe Pletikosa. Their best chance was in the 15th minute when Hector Herrera clanged a shot off the crossbar.
It wasn't until the 72nd minute that El Tri finally had their breakthrough. Captain Rafa Marquez got on the end of a Mexican corner, saw the open header and took it. The ball bounced past Pletikosa and Mexico was ahead 1-0.
It wasn't long before they sealed Croatia's fate. Three minutes after Marquez's tally, Andres Guardado converted on a great pass from Oribe Peralta to make it 2-0. Chicharito Hernandez would add a third in the 82nd minute to eliminate all hope of a Croatian victory. Mexico's three goals in ten minutes were too much to handle. Croatia got a consolation goal from Ivan Perisic in the 87th minute, but it was too little, too late. Mexico had done more than enough to separate themselves and earned their 3-1 victory.
The Mexicans clearly deserve their spot in the round of 16. They have arguably had the most impressive tournament of any nation, so far. They qualified by securing the fourth spot in the CONCACAF region on the final day of qualification. Then beat New Zealand in a playoff. In the World Cup, they have only conceded once while scoring four goals of their own. This does not include the three they should have but were disingenuously disallowed. In their opener against Cameroon, Giovanni dos Santos was twice denied a goal for being offside, except he wasn't offside either time. Then, in yesterday's game, Mexico had a clear penalty denied when Croatia handled the ball in the box.
Guillermo Ochoa is the early favorite for the Golden Glove Award for top goalkeeper in the tournament, even if the award is given to him solely for his otherworldly performance against Brazil. His effort alone kept the hosts off the scoreboard and earned Mexico a crucial point in their quest for advancement. He parried away repeated Croatian attacks toward the end of the match yesterday. He only conceded in a meaningless late moment of desperation.
The other Group A match saw hosts Brazil easily take care of already eliminated Cameroon 4-1 to win the group. Wonderkid Neymar had two goals before being subbed off in the 71st minute. He currently leads the World Cup with four goals.
In a group of nearly meaningless games, the Netherlands saw off Chile 1-0 to take the top spot in Group B. Spain stomped Australia 3-0 to earn three points before their disappointing flight home.
In the round of 16, Brazil will face Chile on Saturday at noon while the Netherlands face Mexico on Sunday, also at high noon.
Yesterday's action only serves as a warm up for three more days of group stage action. Today's set of games brings us more teams playing for their lives. First off, we visit Group D where Italy and Uruguay play for the right to advance. The winner joins Costa Rica as the group's representatives in the round of 16. This game should be tightly contested and pretty free flowing. A win for either team sees them through, while a draw sees Italy advance. I predict Uruguay to come out ahead by a 3-2 score. Costa Rica has already secured a spot in the next stage and would have to suffer greatly at the hands of England to lose the top spot. Since England is fairly deflated after their early exit, I expect Costa Rica to finish off a perfect group stage with a 1-0 win.
After the conclusion of Group D action, we find out who moves on in Group C. Columbia has already advanced and has a firm grip on first place. They take on defensive oriented Japan. The Japanese need a win to have any hope of advancing. I don't think they will find one here. I predict a 3-1 Colombian triumph. The other match puts Ivory Coast against Greece. An Ivory Coast win or draw means they move on. Greece needs a victory and a Japan loss or draw. I like Ivory Coast in this one. They win 2-1 and advance to the knockout rounds for the first time in their history.
Four more great games are on tap for today. Enjoy them and count down one more day toward Thursday's big Group G finale featuring the USA and Germany.
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