Day two is normally the first 'proper' day of the tournament, where the marathon, three games a day, group stages get underway. For a football obsessive like myself, even the most boring and low quality of world cup games must command all my attention. But I, and the rest of the world, were fortunate enough to be thrown up a treat as all three games were a great watch and one produced a truly shocking result that sent shockwaves throughout Brazil. But I chose the low-key game to write about, mainly from the viewpoint of the Cameroon side, because i'm contrarian.
Group A
Cameroon 0-1 Mexico
Certainly not one of the 'must see' games, but this match between two of the less fancied ties was an intriguing battle and the Mexicans will now feel very confident of qualifying ahead of the crunch game against Croatia. The game was played at a frantic pace throughout, but unfortunately the officials came to the fore again with a couple of dreadful errors. Giovani Dos Santos had the ball in the net twice (a superb left footed volley after a equally great cross from Herrera, and a header from a corner) but both were ruled out for offside. Even without the linesman's intervention, Mexico should have been ahead early on as Moreno and then Marquez both missed clear cut chances from set pieces. I was looking at this game from the African's point of view and the lack of marking and general disorganisation was alarming, there seemed to be no joined-up thinking.
But it wasn't all Mexico in the first period as Cameroon showed guts by winning the ball in midfield and using their wingers well to attack the Central Americans. The legendary Samuel Eto'o, captaining Cameroon and once again shouldering the goalscoring burden, missed a glorious chance after Assou-Ekotto skipped past two men, and then just before half time Eto'o headed over under little pressure after superb work from Mbia on the right. The missed chances meant the vultures in the Tv studio, on twitter, and no doubt the media in Cameroon circled round the former Barca and Inter man. I felt a bit sorry for Eto'o. Unlike so many African stars, he had never shirked the challenge of getting his nation through qualifying, had never given up, despite playing generally with team-mates a world away from what he was used to in his illustrious club career. And here he was in his fourth World Cup at 33, past his peak, still needed to spark his team in his international swansong. So you can forgive the odd inaccurate shot. Alas, he was double marked for most of the game, and in the second half barely had a kick.
The rain in Natal was helping the Mexicans get their passing game going, and the second half was completely dominated by them, with Hector Herrera in particular taking charge of the midfield, being a powerful physical presence. Cameroon's defence was under constant siege as lone striker Oribe Peralta hit straight at the 'keeper when one-on-one. A free kick from Assou-Ekotto floated wide after a deflection but that was all Cameroon could muster as Mexico increased the pressure, their 5-3-2 formation working perfectly. I was frustrated that Cameroon, after benefiting from large slices of luck regarding the officials, seemed wedded to one style, unwilling to change a set up that was clearly not helping them get control of the game. The momentum was heavy, and soon enough Mexico got their reward.
After a lovely move Dos Santos was played in by Herrera and despite his shot being saved by ex-Liverpool 'keeper Itandje, poacher supreme Peralta was on hand to sweep in and continue a remarkable recent scoring record, at the same time completely justifying his selection over Javier Hernandez. The Man Utd striker did come on late on, but when given a chance spooned his effort over from six yards. By that time, Cameroon were spent, and their last chance- a flick header from substitute Webo- was acrobatically saved by Ochoa as Mexico held on for a win, leaving Cameroon staring down yet another group stage elimination. The crowd, overwhelmingly Mexican, let out a huge cheer as the final whistle was blown, and the linesman must've been hugely relieved his two early errors didn't cost El Tri.
Player ratings:
Cameroon (4-3-3)
Itandje Did ok, made some decent saves, but a poor presence at set pieces. 6/10
Djeugoue (Nounkeu 45) Given the run around by Layun, no surprise he was replaced. 4/10
N'Koulou Horribly caught out of position for the goal, and lost Dos Santos too many times. 5/10
Chedjou Powerful in the air and decent on the ball, but lost his marker occasionally. 6/10
Assou-Ekotto Constantly wanted the ball, drove forward, passed well, fired crosses in, and showed character. 7/10
Song (Webo 79) Cameroon's other star didn't turn up. Kept things simple when his team needed his extra quality to unlock a strong Mexico team. Wasn't exactly poor, but didn't take responsibility. 6/10
Mbia Kept possession well, and was the one Cameroonian midfielder willing to join Eto'o and try and attack Mexico. Was fouled twice in key positions, and showed fight and energy all game. 7/10
Enoh The holding midfielder tackled well and showed bite. 6/10
Moukandjo Cameroon's outball, the elusive dribbler caused problems in the first half, and was the only player on his team to actually successfully beat a couple of men. 7/10
Eto'o Had two difficult half chances and didn't take them, but worked hard throughout. Just couldn't get the ball, and needed more support. 6/10
Choupo-Moting The elegant Mainz winger looked good early on, then totally disappeared. 5/10
Subs:
Nounkeu Not much of an improvement on Djeugoue. Booked. 5/10
Webo Couldn't make much of an impact, but should've been subbed on earlier as a gamble. 5/10
Mexico (5-3-2)
Ochoa Commanding presence. 7/10
Aguilar Tireless runner off the ball, at right wing-back safe on it. 6/10
Rodríguez Strong centre-half didn't seem to make any big mistakes. 7/10
Márquez The veteran oozed class throughout in the middle of the back three, always keeping an eye on old team-mate Eto'o. Playing his fourth World Cup at 35. 7/10
Moreno finally booked in the second half after some meaty tackles were let go early on. 6/10
Layun Fantastic attacking option on left, always bombing forward and asking questions. 8/10
Herrera (Salcido 90+2) Ran the game in the second half. Mexico's midfield general was so powerful and never seemed to lose a duel, linking up well with second striker Dos Santos 8/10
Vázquez Kept it moving, did little else. 6/10
Guardado (Fabian 69) Plays like a budget Di Maria, his intelligence is best shown by his tactical nous. Always knew when to drift wide to support Layun, or to hold his position. 7/10
G dos Santos Robbed of two goals and seemed to sulk, but showed his quality. 7/10
Peralta (Hernandez 74) Much talked about before the game, delivered with the goal, celebrated with passion. 7/10
Subs:
Fabian Gifted schemer was a little off the pace at first but then pulled off some nice touches. 6/10
Hernandez As a United fan i was gutted he wasn't playing but you couldn't argue with Peralta's goal and performance, especially after Hernandez blew his own big chance. 5/10
Salcido Brought on to waste time. N/A
