Prediction: Brazil vs Mexico

Prediction: Brazil win

Best Odds: 9/20

Bookmaker: bet365

We may not know who is going to win the World Cup just yet, but what we do know is that this year’s edition of the tournament has been arguably the most entertaining of all-time. We’ve seen some utterly fantastic games of football, and even the bad ones have had some last minute drama. With the quarter-finals being just around the corner this is where things start to get serious, as Brazil and Mexico attempt to navigate their way into the final eight as we enter the latter stages of the WC.

Brazil

The Brazilians’ path towards World Cup glory is much simpler than it was a few days ago with Argentina, Germany and Spain all crashing out of the tournament. While there’s every chance that they could go the same way, they seem to have a better core to their squad – and this game against Mexico will really test what they’re capable of. Whoever wins this game will likely set themselves up for a date against Belgium in the quarter-finals, so they’ll need to prove that they’re at the races and have the mentality necessary to navigate their way through the next few games.

Team News

Felipe Luis is set to start in place of Marcelo, with Danilo & Fagner battling it out to make the starting XI. Neymar & Coutinho will lead the Brazilians from the front.

Mexico

This is it – the dreaded Round of 16 game. The Mexicans have been dying to book themselves in the quarter-finals for years and years now, dubbing it their ‘game five’ mission. They certainly possess the quality necessary to reach that stage of the tournament, but they need more than that if they want to get past Brazil. They can’t afford to lose focus, and they need to conserve their energy more so than they have done in their last few games. With their passionate fans behind them, though, anything is possible.

Team News

Hector Moreno will be a big miss as he’s out through suspension with two yellow cards, as Lozano and Hernandez prepare to step up for Mexico.

Factors to Consider

• Brazil lead 23-10 in the head to head, with seven draws.
• Mexico beat Germany 1-0, beat South Korea 2-1 and lost 3-0 to Sweden.
• Brazil drew 1-1 with Switzerland, beat Costa Rica 2-0 and beat Serbia 2-0.
• Mexico have scored three and conceded four so far at the World Cup.
• Brazil have scored five and conceded one so far at the World Cup.

Conclusion

Many great teams have fallen, but Brazil won’t be one of them – at least not yet. The Mexicans have been overhyped as a result of Germany’s ineptitude, and Brazil have a lot more to offer going forward. We can see them riding out an early Mexico storm before taking control of the game and smothering them to the point where they just can’t compete anymore. It may not be particularly entertaining, but the only objective will be to survive, and they’ll do so with a 2-0 victory.

Prediction: Brazil win

Best Odds: 9/20

Bookmaker: bet365