The battle of the managers with bad shirts. Dunga vs Hugo Sanchez.
Brazil meets Mexico. This should be an easy win but the Seleccao are coming in with a number of players on attack having dropped out citing fatigue or not been included. Dunga is still looking for the squad with the ideal balance of aggression and defense. The other point is that El Tri have had a modicum of success against Brazil and in the Copa America in general.
El Tri has had success in the Copa having been runners up in 1993 and 2001. Against Brazil, in the 2001 Copa they beat Brazil, 1-0 in the group stages. El Tri also beat Brazil, 4-3 in the finals of the 1999 Confederations Cup. They still have Borgetti and Blanco who scored the goals that beat Brazil on those two occasions. El Tri has never disgraced itself in its defeat to the Brazilians which have been quite tightly contested.
If history is an indicator then this will again be a well contested affair. The absence of Andres Guardado, Ricardo Osorio, Pavel Pardo, and Carlos Salcido will hurt El Tri as should the speedy presence of Kaka for the Brazilians. If there is an Achilles heel it well could be Helton at goal for the Brazilians who can flub the simplest of chances. The Seleccao also have questions on attack with Vagner Love and Fred although Dunga can push up Robinho who should inject life. Nery Castillo and Juan Carlos Cacho who has had a outstanding Clausura for Pachuca will be the main go to players for the Mexican attack. El Tri can come all fired up or flat with their loss against the US in the Gold Cup a few days ago with Hugo Sanchez's future in doubt.
X-factor: Both managers love wearing outlandish shirts. And they are 0-2 combined with their choices.
Group B: Brazil v. Mexico
Time: 20:50 (local) / 00:50 (GMT), June 27, 2007
Venue: Polideportivo Cachamay, Puerto Ordaz, Venezuela
Shourin, you're hilarious! I love it: "The battle of the managers with bad shirts"! In defense of my beloved, pragmatic, conservative, intense Dunga: he's only worn one really questionable shirt in any of his games (in London, against Portugal). And I guess it's just my bad taste, but I didn't think it was THAT bad.
I'm Brazilian but I do love Mexico and I've always wanted to see them succeed in football. It kills me that the US seems to be their bogey team. Unfortunately, it seems as if Mexico arrived in Venezuela full of divisions and arguments among the players and with the manager, soon after their Gold Cup defeat, so El Tri are not at their best mentally. Sanchez's days are numbered. Still, I look forward to the game.
Even more exciting are both the Mexican and Brazil sides in the US20 world cup in Canada. Amazing talent on both squads.