Brazilian for a day: Brazil v Mexico

Today's highlight was the Brazil-Mexico game, which was played in Fortaleza's Estadio Castelao.  We found a 'FIFA Fan Fest' on the beach, and watched Belgium's 2nd-half comeback against Algeria as tens of thousands of people streamed into an area a couple football fields long.  We blended in nicely in our Brazil gear.

I couldn't believe how many people came out to the group viewing, it was absolutely absurd.  We were about a third of the way back, so imagine twice as many people were behind us.

Mexico was pretty well represented in both quantity and fervor, but all of the banter between fans was good natured.  That was probably wise for Mexican fans, the entire city seemed to be out to support Brazil.  This fan was my clear favorite.

The game itself was well-fought, and pretty entertaining for a 0-0 draw.  Brazil probably deserved to win, and they had at least 5 great opportunities that were either directly at the goalie or well-saved.  Neymar was particularly sharp, and led the attack for all 90 minutes.  I was pleased to see Fred taken off, as he was only good at holding up the ball and didn't do much else; his replacement, Jo, did just about the same thing.  Brazil really needs to figure out how to sharpen the tip of their spear before the knockout rounds.  Mexico also looked threatening, and had 4 or 5 good opportunities that narrowly went over the bar.  They were weak on the flanks, particularly their right, where Marcelo found plenty of space to create opportunities for Neymar.

This was a good result for both teams, leaving Brazil to progress if they beat Cameroon (which is likely).  Mexico will need to beat Croatia, but could also draw with them if Croatia doesn't beat Cameroon.  Nothing is decided in group A, but it's looking like Brazil and the winner of Mexico-Croatia will progress.