Mexico and Croatia faced each other today in a match that decided that would go on to the round of 16 and play against either Chile or Netherlands. Mexico needed a win or a tie at least to advance and get second place and Croatia needed to win to be able to advance to the Round of 16. The last time these two teams faced each other was in the FIFA World Cup 2002 held in South Korea/Japan and Mexico took the win 1-0 over Croatia. Both teams played desperately to get the win today but Mexico was the team that advanced to face Netherlands in a 3-1 win against Croatia.
As the first half kicked off, it was Croatia that took control of the game and had many opportunities to score but it wasn’t enough for the team as last match’s MVP Memo Ochoa played at his best again today. He had about two saves in the first half and faced many shots at goal but some deflected wide off the goal post and others weren’t even close to going in. Mexico had an opportunity in the first half when Hector Herrera kicked the ball to the goal but the ball deflected of the goal post and the post saved Croatia from being behind and eliminated from the World Cup. Mexico had other opportunities like Oribe Peralta being alone but then slipping in the box and then Hector Moreno had a chance but instead collided with the Croatian goalkeeper and was called a foul during the play. Ivan Perisic also had some opportunities but both Memo Ochoa and the Mexican defense helped Mexico stay in the game. Both teams had many opportunities to take the lead but the first 45 minutes kept both teams scoreless.
As the second half kicked off, it was Mexico who had control of the game and didn’t allow Croatia to attack the post. Croatia had some more opportunities to take the lead but it wasn’t enough for them in the second half. Instead it was Mexico that shined through the rest of the game once Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez came into the game. In the 72nd minute it was Mexico that put them first in the scoreboard. In a corner kick from Hector Herrera, the ball came straight to Rafa Marquez who leaped for the ball and was able to head it into the net to give Mexico the 1-0 lead.
Not three minutes later, Chicharito, Oribe Peralta created a beautiful play. Chicharito ran from half court and found Oribe Peralta who then tried to find Chicharito again, but the went passed him and Andres Guardado was able to find the ball, set it up and put the ball pass Croatian goalkeeper Stipe Pletikosa to give them a 2-0 lead.
In the 82nd minute, it was Mexico again that scored and was able to make the lead even bigger. In a corner kick from Hector Herrera, the ball bounced off Captain Rafa Marquez and Chicharito was able to head the ball in to give Mexico the 3-0 lead. It was also Chicharito’s first goal in over a year and also the third goal in less than 3 minutes for Mexico during the match.
As the game was coming to an end, Croatia was able to get themselves in the scoreboard during the 87th minute. Ivan Perisic passed the ball to Ivan Rakitic to find Perisic back again and get the ball behind Memo Ochoa to make the score 3-1 but the one goal wasn’t enough for Croatia since they needed to win the match to be able to advance to the knockout stage.
With goals from Rafael Marquez, Andres Guardado and Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez, Mexico was able to be runners up in Group A and advance to the Round of 16. As for Croatia, they didn’t put enough effort to beat a tough Mexican team and advance but ended up going home.
Mexico will face Netherlands on Sunday in the Knockout stage to see who will advance to the Quarterfinals. Game will take place at 9AM PT.
