Mexico Finish Off Croatia, Brazil Handle Cameroon

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Croatia and Mexico met for the last match in group play, simultaniously kicking-off at the same time as Brazil and Cameroon.  Predictably Brazil took care of Cameroon who lost their first two matches and were therefore mathematically eliminated.  At the start of the match Mexico had four points to Croatia's three meaning a tie would put Mexico through to the knock-out round.

The first-half ended without a goal for either side which favored Mexico.  The pressure was on Croatia to score, needing to win in order to escape the group stage.  Croatian coach Niko Kovač made two changes in the second-half trying to get that necessary goal.  The first change was for the left-back Vrsaljko getting replaced by the midfielder Kovačić.  Later Olić was taken out for the younger forward Rebić.

The goals did not come for Croatia however, as Mexico scored three in the last twenty minutes.  Captain Rafa Marquez rose up to out-jump Croatian defender Corluka to win a header on a corner-kick (72').  Marquez had caused a few turn-overs earlier, but more than made up for himself by scoring the crucial go-ahead goal.

Moments later Mexico stretched the lead on a counter-attack led by substitute Chicharito Hernández.  With Croatia pressed high up the pitch, Hernández had acres of space to push forward and picked out the run of Peralta along the right flank.  Peralta then played the ball across the box for Guardado making a late run.  Guardado kept his head down and hit the shot first-time to beat keeper Pletikosa (75').

Hernández scored a final goal for Mexico on another corner-kick.  Rafe Marquez was again in the box for the set-piece and again won the header.  This time however, he flicked the ball on to the far post where Hernández had a free header and an easy score (82').

Croatia managed to score one goal in the closing minutes of the match.  Rakatić played Perišić in-on-goal with a nice back-heel flick and Perišić was able to place his shot inside the far post (87').  The goal simply came too late for Croatia and if there was to be a comeback, Rebić made sure that did not happen when he was sent off.  Rebić was late with a challenge on Peña and the ref immediately showed him a red card.

Mexico finished second to Brazil in Group A while Croatia will follow Cameroon out of the tournament.  Brazil will face Chile for the first game in the knock-out round and Mexico will take on the Netherlands who won Group B.

Obvious Dive Gives Brazil Go-Ahead Goal

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Host nation Brazil were featured in the 2014 World Cup kick-off match today against a tenacious Croatian team.  A lot of pressure is on Brazil to perform well, especially following the successful campaign last year in the Confederations Cup.

Despite the overwhelming support for the home team from the sea of yellow in the stands, Brazil fell behind in the opening moments of the match.  Croatian forward Ivica Olić made a long run up the left side and rolled a cross in front of Brazil's goal.  Striker Jelavić could only get a partial touch on the cross, sending the ball into defender Marcelo.  Unfortunately for the rightback the ball deflected off his foot into Brazil's net for an own-goal (11').

Brazil did not panic and as the first-half rolled along they started to test the Croatian keeper.  Stipe Pletikosa blocked the first shots from Paulinho and Oscar, but could not turn away the shot from Neymar.  From outside the box Neymar sent a rather weak shot towards goal that was just out of reach for Pletikosa, leveling the score (29').

The first-half ended without further incident and after the half-time break Croatia came out with a more physical approach.  The change in tactics was effective at slowing down the flow of the Brazilian offense until the referee made a terrible mistake that drastically impacted the match.  Brazilian striker Fred made an obvious dive inside the box, but the referee bought it.

Instead of a yellow card to Fred for simulation, defender Lovren was shown a card and Brazil were awarded a penalty.  Neymar took the shot from the spot and scored the go-ahead goal (71').  Keeper Pletikosa actually got both hands on the shot, but could not keep the ball out of the net.

In the final moments of the match Brazil added an insurance goal when Oscar made a break following a turnover in midfield.  Oscar managed to fire off a shot with a toe-poke to beat the keeper for the last goal of the match (90 +1').  Again Croatian keeper Pletikosa had a chance to make the stop on the play, only to come up empty due to slow reactions.

Brazil escape their first round match with an unconvincing win.  Forwards Fred and Hulk were both rather subdued throughout the match and keeper Julio César did not look very confident in front of goal.  Croatia on the other hand were quite fluid through the midfield and will have Mario Mandzukić back for the next match.  Their biggest concern right now will be whether or not to make a change at keeper going forward.

France Mount Come-Back for World Cup Finals

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(3-2) Aggregate               

France came into today's World Cup qualifier down two goal to the Ukraine after a scoreless effort in Kiev on Friday.  Each team had a player sent off in the first meeting, Koscielny for France and Kucher for Ukraine, and France especially felt the need to make other changes to the line-up.  Benzema and Valbuena started over Giroud and Nasri which gave the offense much more energy.  The most important changes proved to be in the defense though, with Sakho and Varane replacing Abidal and Koscienly.

Playing in front of their home fans France were much more lively than the first meeting and created all the early chances.  Centerback Sakho benefited from a shot by Ribèry that was saved by the Ukraine keeper.  Pyatov did well to stop the initial shot, but the rebound fell right for Sakho who was waiting in the right place (22').

France kept the pressure on the Ukraine and racked up more shots.  Benzema had one goal denied by an offsides call that was shown to be an error on replay.  The missed call didn't make much difference however, and Benzema scored a clean goal moments later.  Cabaye sent a skipping shot towards goal that was deflected right into the path of Benzema for the finish (34').

The second goal leveled the aggregate score, but the Ukaine could still put the pressure back on France with one crucial away-goal.  Neither side made any changes at half-time as both mangers felt their squads were sound.  Unfortunately for the Ukraine a costly mistake by centerback Khacheridi left them short-handed for the remainder of the match.  Khacheridi had seen a yellow card in the first-half and saw a second following a foul on Ribèry just minutes after the break.

With an extra man to their advantage France were able to keep the pressure on the Ukraine and score the deciding goal.  Sakho took credit for the goal, though it was tough to see if the goal was not an own-goal scored by Rakitskiy.  Sakho was right behind the defender as the cross came in, and the ball ended up in the net which is all France truly cared about (72').

The Ukraine could not grind out a goal and will go home with heavy hearts coming just short of a World Cup appearance.  France were not the only nation to secure a spot in Brazil today as Portugal, Greece, and Croatia all won their playoff matches.