Confederations Cup 2013: Mexico vs Italy - Five Talking Points

Mario Balotelli continues to sparkle for the Azurris

The Milanese forward had a good game as he showed worked hard up front and went close to scoring in the initial stages of the match. Every time Pirlo and his counterparts had the ball, he seemed to be on the move trying to time his run to perfection. One particularly impressive thing about Mario’s performance was he stuck to his basics and never tried fancies; he held on to the ball and rode quite a few tough challenges from the Mexican defenders. His fine close ball control earned Italy the free kick which Pirlo converted with much aplomb.

He seemed to have withered away in the second half as the Italian midfield looked a bit leggy but did exceedingly well to score the winner as he wrestled off Rodriguez to shoot past Corona. He showed great desire to fight off the Mexican defenders for the ball and rocketed the ball past the goalkeeper, a perfect striker’s goal.