The Samara Arena is the venue for the Brazil versus Mexico 2018 FIFA World Cup Round of 16 game. The winners of this fixture will face the winner of Belgium versus Japan. If they can get through this fixture and the quarter-final they will fear nobody.
People are saying that Brazil have failed to get out of second gear at this tournament, so whoever they face must be fearing them because they have been quite impressive so far. A disappointing 1-1 draw with Switzerland was followed up by efficient 2-0 wins over both Costa Rica and Serbia. Brazil are now 23 games unbeaten and look like potential champions.
There was a time when Brazil used to be only about attacking flair. Now, under the coaching of Tite, they are solid defensively too. The Brazilians have won 19 of the 24 games that Tite has been in charge, drawing four and losing once, meaning he has a win percentage of 79%.
Mexico have now reached the Round of 16 for the past seven successive World Cups, but have not progressed past this stage since 1986. While they look a good side, the Brazilians are starting to click and when they are in form, they are almost impossible to stop.
Brazil vs Mexico Key Bites
Brazil have won the World Cup on five occasions and are the favorites to win the 2018 World Cup and take their impressive tally to six world titles. After losing 7-1 to eventual champions Germany at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, the Brazilians feel they have a point to prove and want to put those demons to rest.
There is no team in the world who attacks as well as brazil. With Philippe Coutinho always looking for a forward pass, Paulinho turning from a Premier League reject to a formidable midfielder, Gabriel Jesus banging in goals and Neymar being at the root of everything positive, the Brazilians have a wealth of talent going forwards.
The Brazilians are now defensively solid, something that did not used to be the case. They keep the ball so well that their opponents do not have the chance to threaten their goal, and if they do break through, the defensive line is well-drilled and organised to a degree they have kept 10 clean sheets in their previous 13 games.
The only real weakness if their squad is they want to try fancy plays without getting the basics right; it is in their nature. They have also struggled somewhat against teams who have bothered them physically. Thankfully, for Brazil, Mexico are not a physical side.
Mexico looked like potential World Cup winners until they fell apart and lost 3-0 to Sweden. Everything that was good in the victories against Germany and South Korea was absent in the Sweden game.
Like Brazil, Mexico usually look tight at the back and you cannot lose football matches if you do not allow the opposition to score. Unlike some teams, say Denmark, who focus solely on defense, Mexico are dangerous going forward and can hit teams quickly and efficiently on the break.
They have a great striker in Javier Hernandez who only needs one chance to score, which is a good thing because Mexico will not get many chances.
The Mexican’s biggest weakness is the fact their coach loves to chop and change his team so they are never settled. The best teams in the world have a set side who learn to play with each other, knowing exactly where they will be at any given time. Mexico do not have this, Brazil do, hence our 2-0 prediction earlier.
Category : Betting Picks
Tag : FIFA World Cup , Soccer
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