Mexico almost suffered a massive upset in their match against New Zealand, but they eventually won that match and they are now sitting at the top of Group A. They will typically be the hosts in their match against Russia on Saturday, June 24th, at the Kazan Arena in the city of Kazan. Russia easily fell to Portugal by 1-0, and they are now in need of a win that would see them through to the knock-out round.
After easily overcoming New Zealand by 0-2 in the premiere, Russia failed to be competitive against Portugal in the second of three matches, and were eventually defeated by 1-0. Portugal took the lead at the 8th minute with Cristiano Ronaldo, and went on to play perfect defense for the remainder of the match, as they didn’t allow the Russians to record a single shot on target. Russia were unable to stop the attacking onslaught of the Portuguese, as goalkeeper Akinfeev made 5 saves in that match. After this unsuccessful result, Russia are sitting at the 3rd spot of Group A with 3 points. Only the two top placed teams will move to the knock-out round, and since both Mexico and Portugal already have 4 points, Russia need a win in order to qualify. They do have some slight chances to qualify with a draw here, but in order for that to happen, Portugal need to lose against New Zealand in the final match, which seems quite unlikely.
After the 2-2 draw against Portugal in the first match, Mexico came into their match against New Zealand looking nothing other than the 3 points that would keep them alive in the qualification chase. Even though it was their easiest match in the group, they saw their opponents take the lead at the 42nd minute, and go to the half time break with the lead. However, Mexico emerged for the second half as a totally different team, as they dominated every aspect of the match, while also pulling even a the 54th minute. They didn’t allow their opponents to hold the ball for long (71% possession), while they only allowed a single shot on target, while they themselves created 9. They eventually took the lead at the 72nd minute with Peralta, and held on to the result as the two teams enagaged in a very physical match at the stoppage time. Mexico are now sitting at the top of Group A with 4 points, just as many as Portugal, but Mexico are at the top due to better offense. A draw here is all they need in order to qualify to the knock-out stage, but a win could guarantee the top spot and maybe a more favorable match-up in the next round.