After a nail biting match between Denmark and Tunisia that saw the latter stand their ground at hold Denmark for a valiant 0-0 draw, it was time to get to the fourth and final match of the day where Mexico took on Poland, with majority of odds in favour of Mexico.
Action began in the very first few minutes as both teams committed fouls within the first 5 minutes of the match and Alexis Vega making the first attempt at scoring for Mexico but missed the target. It was not too long that Poland gained possession of the ball and took it to the Mexican half where Robert Lewandowski tried to score the first goal for the Polish side but was unable to convert. Poland tried to maintain pressure on Mexico with a couple of back to back corner kicks that didn’t fetch an result.
The 12th minute saw Alexis Vega shoot from the cornet which was almost headed in by K. Moreno, nearly scoring one for the Mexicanos. 26 minutes in, Vega again made an effort to score, but couldn’t. As the series of fouls continued and Mexican Jorge Sanchez becomes the first player in the match to be issued a yellow card. As the first half was approaching an end, the referee signaled 3 minutes of extra time, that only saw some action when L. Chavez attempted to score one for his side. With the referees whistle, the first half ended with a goalless tie for both sides.
Nothing changed as teh second half commenced. Missed shots at the goals, multiple corner kicks and the never ending series of fouls. The fouls continued throughout the second half, as if both teams were competing who could register the most fouls in this match. One promising opportunity finally came knocking on the Polish door when H. Moreno committed a foul on the Polich captain, Robert Lewandowski in the 56th minutes, which was reviewed and a penalty was awarded to Poland. Then Mexican players and supporters held their breath as Lewandowski pranced ahead to shoot, which was heroicly saved by the Mexican goalie Ochoa. Blocking a penalty required focus and agility, and Ochoa proved he has it all.
The second half continued with back to back scoring attempts by both teams. It seemed as if a shot was being fired at the goals every minute or two. Nonetheless, neither of the attempts could change the scorecard that still read 0-0 after 90 minutes. The referee signaled 8 minutes of extra time, which can at time be just enough to score just that one goal tha matters. However, that was not the case to be today as the final whistle blew at the 98th minute, with no goal scored and the match ending at a 0-0 draw.
Ultimately, it is quite apt to state that Lewandowski could have won the match for Poland after getting fouled in the box during the second-half. But Ochoa was in his brilliant best to block the Poland captain’s penalty.
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