Brazil's Oscar (L) and Ramires celebrate during the 2014 World Cup opening match between Brazil and Croatia at the Corinthians arena in Sao Paulo
“I had contacts with PSG, that is true, but it did not go any further.” - Oscar REUTERS

Final Score

Brazil 0 Mexico 0

Overview

The seventeenth match of the FIFA World Cup 2014 is going to be held between Brazil and Mexico. With both the teams with 3 points each, this Group A match should be interesting as the winner in this match will secure a place to the next round.

Teams

Brazil: Brazil already secured a victory against Croatia in the opening match. However, many may not agree if the win was as emphatic as its score line (3-1). The penalty was controversial as there was enough doubt if a defender merely putting a hand on the shoulder of the opponent in the penalty box should result in such a decision. Brazil looked shaky several times in its defence as well. It will try to get over the immense pressure from the home crowd and seal a victory against Mexico, which is expected to give a tough competition. Oscar, who played brilliantly against Croatia, will shine in this match as well.

Mexico: Mexico lost against Bosnia-Herzegovina (0-1) and Portugal (0-1) in its pre-World Cup friendlies. However, it has got a history of defeating their South American counterparts on important occasions. Mexico defeated Brazil to win the 2012 Olympics. It has a good record of getting beyond the group phase. However, its last quarter-final appearance came long back in 1986. If Mexico wins the match, which it is definitely capable of, it will not only boost the morale immensely but take it to the next round as well.

Head to Head

These two teams played 38 times against each other. Brazil won 22, Mexico 10, and it ended in a draw 6 times. There were 107 goals scored. Brazil scored 71 of those.

Key Players

Brazil: Neymar, Thiago Silva & Oscar

Mexico: Raul Jimenez & Oribe Peralta

Date, Time & Venue

Brazil's time zone is UTC/GMT -3. The match starts at 4 pm (local time) on June 17, which means it is 5 am on June 18 in New South Wales, Australia. The match will be held at Estadio Castelao in Fortaleza.

Prediction

This is going to be a highly competitive match, one of the best in the group stages. Both the teams will give a tough time to each other. Brazil will eventually win it 2-1.

Group Predictions

Group A, Group B, Group C, Group D, Group E, Group F, Group G & Group H

Reference: FIFA

Contact the writer: s.mukhopadhyay@ibtimes.com.au

RELATED STORIES