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Portugal and Mexico began their FIFA Confederations Cup campaign with a closely-fought contest, with El Tri grabbing a late equaliser to snatch a 2-2 draw. After VAR made its debut by ruling out Pepe’s goal for Portugal, Ricardo Quaresma profited of Cristiano Ronaldo’s pass to open the scoring, before Javier Hernandez scored a typical header to make it 1-1 going into the second half.
Cedric’s 86th minute goal looked to have won the points for Portugal, only for Hector Moreno’s header from a corner to snatch a deserved point for Mexico in injury time. The result means that Russia top Group A with 3 points, with Portugal and Mexico on 1 point each, ahead of bottom-placed New Zealand.
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Here are the major talking points from the game:
#1 The Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system is a boon, but needs tweaking
“I had never been in favour of VAR technology, but I must admit it’s necessary now.” – Carlo Ancelotti, after Bayern Munich lost out to Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League semifinals via two offside goals from Cristiano Ronaldo. VAR can change the destiny of football – Zinedine Zidane, Real Madrid and Ronaldo may not have been European champions if VaR was present.
Critics of the system have always claimed that it would take too much time, but when Pepe’s goal was ruled out for offside in the 20th minute, it took all of 30 seconds. A fast decision, and more importantly, a fair one, which is what the man in the middle, Nestor Pitana, wanted.
However, the crowd had no idea what happened, and the replays and thought-process of the video assistant referees weren’t even made available to the viewing public. The potential of the system to descend into a farce was made clear after there was a delay in kickoff after Cedric’s winning goal for Portugal.
There’s no need to throw the baby out with the bath water, though – the integrity of the game is much more important than a few kinks, which can be ironed out.
#2 Cristiano Ronaldo v2.5 is awesome
Much has been made about Cristiano Ronaldo’s metamorphosis from a fleet-footed winger into a lethal frontman for Real Madrid this season, but the Portuguese star has added another bow to his game. The evolution of his game was crystallized in the entirety of Portugal’s first goal, when Ronaldo was sent through on goal on the left wing.
In the years gone past, Ronaldo would have comfortably speeded past the defenders and scored, but the 32-year-old does not have the legs anymore and was caught up by 3 defenders. Such is his vision though, that even without looking up, Ronaldo knew where his partner-in-crime for decades, Ricardo Quaresma, was and squared a gorgeous ball for the Trivela King to open the scoring. Another delicious backheel nearly put Quaresma through again, but the winger, who has revived his career in Besiktas, spurned the chance.
Age did look to have caught up with Ronaldo as he faded in the second half, but there is still an exceptional player to build a team around – Zinedine Zidane did – and Fernando Santos can tweak his side too.
#3 Little Pea stands tall
Standing 5 feet and 7 inches tall, Javier Hernandez is usually amongst the most shortest players whenever he takes to the pitch, but boy does he know how to make great use of the ol' noggin.
In 93 games for Mexico, the Little Pea has scored 48 times, 18 of which have come via headers. That’s an astonishing 37.5 % of his goals for Mexico, which speaks volumes about his desire and nose for goal. You don’t need the inches to score a header, you just need the heart.
It’s just as well the Chicarito is so blessed with his head, as he had a more than forgettable day with his feet. After great work down the right wing by Vela and Jimenez, Hernandez spurned a terrific chance to give Mexico a 2-1 lead going into the break, blazing his effort into orbit. He also contrived to miss another easy chance in the second half.
Hernandez is emblematic of a Mexico generation that had the world at its feet, but lacked polish.
#4 Defensive errors galore
It’s kind of ironic that Portugal won Euro 2016 with a 1-0 scoreline – this is a nation that for years, has been blessed with some stunning players going forward (Eusebio, Luis Figo, Rui Costa etc), but some distinctly average players at the back. Yes, there have been some legendary centre-backs, but as a unit, Portugal have been historically awful.
Fernando Santos seemed to have solved their problems in the Euros last summer, but this game was a return to type. Fonte and Pepe struggled to bring the ball out of defence in the opening 20 minutes, with plenty of misplaced passes. Of course, the worst moment came from the boot of Raphael Guerreiro, who has not had the best of seasons for Dortmund, with the left-back’s air-kick that set up Mexico’s first goal a clanger he would love to forget.
Cedric’s goal sort of made up for the torrid time the rest of his defensive partner’s faced, only for Fonte to let him down with a misjudged header from the injury-time corner, allowing Mexico to score. Perhaps this is just rustiness after a long club season, as Mexico had their fair share of defensive issues as well, but noth managers have to iron out their defensive issues fast, if they want to progress.
#5 Mexico have a spirit that can take them far
Most of the pre-match predictions surrounding the game predicted a win for Portugal, but Mexicans take their football very, very seriously. Even if they do not possess a Cristiano Ronaldo, El Tri make up for it with sheer determination and an indomitable team spirit. Indeed, when Cedric scored in the 86th minute to put Portugal ahead, it seemed rather harsh on the North American champions, who were the better side for large portions of the game.
It would have been easy to give up, but Mexico are made of sterner stuff, especially in the recent past, under Juan Carlos Osorio – the Colombian has lost only two games in charge since taking over in 2015, but remains a divisive figure back home due to his tendency to rotate.
It's that rotation policy that has given players like Hector Moreno a deserved run in the side and he rewared his manager with a defiant header. Keep it up and Mexico could do well in this competition.
