49: Mexico 2-Australia 0
DIARIO IMPERIAL
Mexico seals its pass to the next round at the expense of Australia
The hosts will now define first place in the group with Provence
Mexico seals its pass to the next round at the expense of Australia
The hosts will now define first place in the group with Provence
After a uncertain start, the Feathered Serpents have reached once again the playing level that has characterized them in recent years, defeating Australia and proving to the world that they are a serious contender for the title. On the other hand, the Australians, despite their victories against Khemia and Tibet, were left without a chance to advance to the round of 16, as they were left with 6 points, while both Mexico and Provence now have 7 units.
The match was played at the Grand Stadium under the scorching Monterrey sun, forcing the referee to stop the game a couple of times so that the players could drink water and recover a bit. Miguel Herrera decided to repeat the lineup that paid off against Khemia, while Australia also didn't vary much in the lineup used in their previous three games.
As expected from before the game, Mexico came out to attack from the start, with Pizarro, Lozano and Jiménez leading the attack again, cornering the Australians in a matter of minutes. The Australians were determined to draw a tie that would allow them to stay alive and, if luck smiled on them, a counterattack goal that would give them the victory, but never without attacking openly, at the cost of being thrashed by the Mexicans.
Despite continued Aztec insistence during the first half, including a shot from outside the area by Giovani Dos Santos that hit the crossbar, and a header by Jiménez into Ryan's hands, the Socceros' strategy worked very well throughout the first half and a good part of the second. However, with the entry of veteran striker Oribe Peralta in place of Jonathan dos Santos and with Edson Álvarez advancing forward, things changed, as Mexico began to create more danger and dismantle any of the few opportunities that Australia had.
It was finally at the 78th minute when Miguel Layún crossed the ball from the left wing, which was lightly combed by Oribe Peralta, and found the leg of Raúl Jiménez, who deflected the ball enough to put it out of Ryan's reach and send it to the back of the goal. With this, the Australian strategy collapsed, as they were now forced to seek the equalizer goal, as defeat would leave them out of the tournament. For this reason, Arnold sent Cawley and Bradic to the field, in a desperate attempt to find the goal as they had not done throughout the game.
Despite their attempts, all they got was for Mexico to score the goal that ensured their victory: after an attack in which almost the entire Australian team went to the front, Salcedo cleared the ball, which was taken by Rodolfo Pizarro, who proceeded to accelerate to the other side of the pitch and passed the ball Jiménez, who was left alone in front of Ryan and surpassed him with a low shot to the opposite post, scoring his second goal of the night and his fourth of the tournament.
With this result Australia says goodbye to the tournament, while Mexico is tied in absolutely everything with Provence, so their games against Tibet and Khemia respectively will define the winner of group A, who will face second place in group B, while the one who is left behind will go against the winner of this group.
Lineups:
Mexico: Ochoa, Layún, Mier (Cisneros, 90'), Salcedo, Gallardo, Álvarez, dos Santos (Peralta, 65'), dos Santos, Pizarro, Jiménez, Lozano
Australia: Ryan, Daly, Cahill, Kennedy, Shah (Cawley, 80'), Killy (Bradic, 80'), de las Cuevas, Tusveld, Posner, Kennedy, Perichon
Goals:
1-0 Raul Jiménez, 78’
2-0 Raul Jiménez, 88’
Yellow cards:
None