Mexico 1 - Cameroon 0

Photo by Julian Finney

Rainy Natal was the site for the first match of three on this day. The two less heralded teams from Group A were facing off as Cameroon took on Mexico. Both teams were lackluster in qualifying. Cameroon likely were the tenth or eleventh best side in Africa, but they navigated a soft draw to make it to Brasil 2014. Mexico stumbled often at home but won an intercontinental playoff.

On this afternoon, Mexico took the game to Cameroon. The Indomitable Lions had all but one man behind the ball to defend from the opening whistle and still Mexico stretched them easily via flank play. Hector Herrera whipped in an unguarded cross, and Giovanni Dos Santos beat the offside trap to smash home the opening goal off a beautiful volleyed finish. Somehow, the assistant referee decided to make the wrong call and raise his flag, so Mexico were not credited for the score. Cameroon finally started establishing a rhythm after the quarter hour mark. A sneaky dribbling move up the left sideline by Cameroon left back Benoit Assou-Ekotto left Francisco Rodriguez in his wake. A low cross was hit first-time by Samuel Eto'o, whose shot grazed the outside of the near post. Etc. Eric Choupo-Moting was held down and pushed to the ground by Mexico centerback Hector Moreno as he tried to head off a corner, yet no penalty kick was given. In yet another controversial decision, Dos Santos again had a goal taken off the board for offsides. This time, he was ruled offside when Choupo-Moting deflected a Mexican corner kick backwards into his path just before his headed finish. The referee decided to continue his poor performance, failing to produce a yellow card to Cameroon's Stephane Mbia even though he extended his arm through Andres Guardado's face. The teams went into their dressing rooms after a puzzling 0-0 half.

Mexico were in with a chance early in the half. Dos Santos toe-poked a through ball to Oribe Peralta, but an oncoming Cameroon goalkeeper Charles Itandje came out to make the sliding block. At the hour mark, Mexico finally were allowed to have a goalstand. Cameroon's centerbacks split apart so wide that the entire half circle was open, and Hector Herrera rolled a simple through ball into the gaping hole. Itandje made the initial save on Dos Santos, but Peralta was there to clean up the mess and put Mexico ahead 1-0. Jose Vasquez had a fantastic game at defensive midfield for Mexico, completing over fifty passes with nary a turnover. However, in stoppage time, Vasquez's turnover at the top of the box led to a quick cross in from Assou-Ekotto. Benjamin Moukandjo headed at the top corner, but a flying catch by Mexico goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa preserved the lead. Mexico right back Miguel Layun ran all the way up the pitch and stripped Dany Nounkeu (pictured, yellow) in possession. His cross found a wide-open Javier Hernandez, but Hernandez could not manufacture a goal with his knee. Mexico hang on to win 1-0 in a match where they scored three legitimate goals.

Brasil 3 pts +2
Mexico 3 pts +1
Cameroon 0 pts -1
Croatia 0 pts -2

Goals
Mexico
Oribe Peralta 61

Match Reports:
http://www.espnfc.us/team/mexico/203/blog/post/1879363/ramos-mexico-beat-the-odds
http://www.espnfc.us/team/mexico/203/blog/post/1878170/carlisle-three-points-from-el-tris-win

Highlights:
http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/videos/highlights/match=300186492/index.html