Mexico battle back to grab a tie against Brazil in U20 World Cup debut

Mexico opened their 2025 U20 World Cup campaign with a 2-2 tie against Brazil in a wonderful match. Mexico got an early lead but allowed Brazil to gain the upper hand and take the lead before a late goal gave them the tie. Mexico had a very good performance in a very tough group to start their tournament in a positive way. Mexico will now have an extremely tough follow up match against Spain, who need the victory after losing their opener against Morocco.

The 1st half started with Mexico coming out with the midfield trio everyone wanted, from the start with Obed Vargas, Elias Montiel and Gilberto Mora. The early minutes had Mexico being more cautious while Brazil looked to counter. Joao Cruz fell in the area after clashing with Everardo Lopez but nothing was given. A great cross into the area from Mora was headed from close range by Tahiel Jimenez but blocked by Brazil’s goalkeeper, Otavio but deflected into the path of Alexei Dominguez, who then got a strong right footed shot past Otavio and into the net to score and give Mexico the early 1-0 lead. It was Mexico’s first chance of the match and it gave Mexico the surprising lead. Off a counter, the ball would end up with Mora, who got off a right footed shot from outside the area that went just wide. Mexico started to look better than Brazil, who seemed to have been rattled by the goal. Off a corner kick, the ball fell for Igor Serrote, whose shot was blocked by Rodrigo Pachuca. The ball was blocked by his arm but he had it close to his body. Still Brazil made use of the “green card” for a VAR review but no PK was called and Brazil lost the challenge. A cross into the area was deflected by a back heel by Cesar Garza but it went right to Rafael Coutinho, who got off a thunderous left footed shot from outside the area that went past Mexico’s goalkeeper, Emmanuel Ochoa and into the net to score and give Brazil the 1-1 tie. It was a mistake from Garza, who should have known that against a team like Brazil, you can’t do things like a no look back heel deflection because they can make you pay for your overconfidence. A cross into the area was headed by Igor but Ochoa got to the ball before another Brazilian player could get to it. A cross into the area almost reached attacker Luighi but it was cleared by Mexico’s defense. A cross into the area would find Mora but his right footed shot went wide in a good opportunity. The halftime whistle blew and although it was a very even match, Mexico had been slightly better but the tie was a fair result.

The 2nd half started with Brazil subbing out Igor Serrote for Gilberto. A left footed shot from outside the area from Coutinho would force Ochoa to make a save but he would leave the ball there but Mexico’s defense was able to clear the ball. Off a counter, Mora got into the area and got past two defenders but his right footed shot went wide. A great run into the area from Vargas ended with him getting off a shot that was deflected wide by Brazil’s defense. A cross into the area was headed just wide by Diego Ochoa. Brazil subbed out Gustavo Prado and Leonardo Derik for Wesley and Erick Bele. Mexico subbed out Tahiel Jimenez and Diego Sanchez for Oswaldo Virgen and Amaury Morales. A cross from a corner kick was deflected into the path of Morales, whose right footed shot from outside the area went wide. A cross into the area from Virgen would reach Elias Montiel. He failed to control the ball but was able to get off a pass to Dominguez, who got off a right footed shot that Otavio saved but he let the rebound fall to Virgen, who would volley the ball wide. Off a counter, a cross from Gilberto was backhelled volleyed by Luighi and then it deflected off Diego Ochoa and hit the post in the closest chance of the half for either team. Mexico subbed out Rodrigo Pachuca and Obed Vargas for Cesar Bustos and Yael Padilla. Off a throw in, the ball was failed to be clear by Garza and it reached Luighi, who got off a great volley past Ochoa and into the net to score and give Brazil the 2-1 lead. It was a wonderful shot from the Brazilian attacker but Garza had made a mistake in allowing the ball to go past him although the defense was surprised by the great shot from Luighi. Brazil subbed out Joao Cruz for Murilo Rhikman. From just inside the area, Luighi got off a bicycle kick that would go just wide. Iago Teodoro got off a right footed shot that bounced off a teammate and deflected wide. Mexico subbed out Cesar Garza for Iker Fimbres. Off a corner kick, Mora got off a great cross that Diego Ochoa would get to and get off an amazing header past Otavio and into the net to score and tie the match at 2-2. It was as good a corner kick as you can get for a great goal that tied the match. Brazil subbed out Luighi for Deivid Washington. A cross into the area would reach Ochoa, who got kicked in the head by Bele, who got a Yellow Card. Mexico made their “green card” VAR review but it remained in only a Yellow card. A cross into the area on a corner kick would reach Washington, who got off a bicycle kick shot that was saved by Ochoa although a foul was called on the play. It was the last play of the game and the match ended with a very fair 2-2 tie.

While a win would have been better, Mexico got as good as a result as they could after that with a 2-2 tie in which they were either the better team or as good as a world powerhouse. Mexico took the match to Brazil and played a great match at time although they also had some troubles especially on the defensive end. Still it was Brazil, one of the title candidates although being in the group of death, the bad news for Mexico is that all their matches will have as tough a difficulty as this. The best example is their next match against European champions Spain, who will be out for blood after losing their opener against Morocco. That result means that Spain needs the three points or it could be the end of their tournament which increases the difficulty for Mexico. Still Mexico needs to continue to show what they are capable of and the match against Brazil was definitely a statement as they surprised many by having such a good performance from most of their talent like the Midfield trio of Vargas, Mora and Montiel. Still Mexico will need to improve on offense in the final third as even when they had more possession, Brazil had the more dangerous opportunities with flashes while Mexico struggled to create as dangerous chances as the South American. Should Mexico improve they can exceed expectations and have a great tournament.