Portugal came in leading the group, needing only a draw to be sure of winning outright, while Mexico a potential, if not exactly terrifyingly likely, risk of losing second place to Angola. Realistically Angola had to win 3-0, or Portugal had to mop the floor with Mexico. So they just played boring, shitty football, which blended in nicely with the other three games (other than maybe the second half of England-Sweden). I didn't watch the Angola game (thanks to the cheating Germans in '82 the third game of every group is played simultaneously) but it looked like they really went for the win, even if they came up short. The chances of not making it were slim, and the prize for first is playing Holland so it may be hard to get motivated, but I'm really just a bit annoyed by four straight games of sleepy football.
Portuguese midfielders kept getting great chances coming forward, including Maniche's wide-open shot in the 6th minute, and I have absolutely no idea what Marquez was thinking when he really obviously reached over his head on a corner kick. On the resulting penalty, Simao stepped up and hesitated, freezing the keeper, and then fired past him to put Portugal up 2-0.
Mexico did briefly look pissed off and dangerous after that, and a long free kick into the box led to a header for Marquez, who flicked the ball to the far post, but Bravo's shot was tipped over the bar. Fonseca headed the corner perfectly into the far post side netting, with two Mexicans waiting to clean it up if he went wide. That was kind of it though. In the second half Bravo got a penalty shot when Miguel, falling over, stuck a hand out to catch himself and hit the ball instead, but he put it way over the bar.
What really stood out, again, came when Luis Perez was tossed in the second half for his second yellow. He was called for diving, and pursued the ref halfway across the field protesting, making contact with the ref several times. That's two violations that could get him a card, for diving and for dissent. Nevertheless, we got treated to five minutes of the party line from ESPN that the refs shouldn't enforce the rules in any noticeable way that inconveniences anybody. The fact that FIFA is blindingly obviously trying to change the culture of the game and using their one high profile event to do it is completely lost on these people who are protesting that it isn't like the old days. All defenders, too... it's Harkes and Balboa whining on TV, invoking Franz Beckenbauer's statements that he's upset about all the yellow cards. Meanwhile the fans are bored with kicking and shirt-pulling, diving for free kick and set pieces are the only way to score, and the world's best players aren't on the field because their legs keep getting broken. FIFA's doing the right thing, and if the big leagues in Europe follow their lead it would be good for the long-term health of the game. If players don't expect to be penalized, a culture of cheating flourishes when there are 28 cameras covering the game, so the fans see everything the officials don't call. The video circulating of Crouch pulling on a defender's dreads to get over him for a header should prove that fans not only see this stuff, but don't consider it a healthy part of the game. Just my opinion, anyways.
Portugal 2-1 Mexico
'6 Maniche
'23 Simao (pen)
'29 Fonseca
Angola 1-1 Iran
'60 Flavio
'75 Bakhtiarizadeh
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