Netherlands 2-1 Mexico
- Estadio Castelao, Forteleza – Attendance 58,817
- Referee – Pedro Proença
- Netherlands goals – Sneijder (88), Huntelaar (90 pen)
- Mexico goals – dos Santos (48)
- Bookings – Aguilar, Marquez, Guardardo
The scene was set in the blazing heat of the Estadio Castelao in Fortaleza as the Netherlands took on Mexico for a place in the quarter finals of World Cup 2014.
The pressure was intense, the temperature was excessive and the brightness of the Dutch kit was incredibly severe without the contrast of white or black shorts to break up the orange.
The previous day had seen two games of South American football with Brazil v Chile and Columbia v Uruguay so this game was a case of whether another nation from the Americas could join Brazil and Columbia in the quarter finals. If so it would cement further the dominance in this side of the competition with Costa Rica also playing later in the day.
The Mexicans in their much more familiar green shirts certainly had the best of the opening stages with lots of possession and a few early chances. These were chances that they were certainly going to regret not taking as the game went on.
The heat in the stadium was beyond extreme and was to be a significant factor as the temperature reached a staggering 38.8 centigrade. These temperatures and the direct impact of the sun saw thousands of empty seats (like at the Amex) as the watching crowd battled to find spots in the shade.
It was too hot to watch from the stands let alone play in it and these conditions would mean that any team needed to take their chances as they came, make the ball do the work and use energy conservatively in order to have something left in the tank for the later stages.
Mexico looked by far the most dangerous and better side as they played with bravery, persistence, great organisation and a very good tempo with Salcido, Herrera and Layun causing the Oranje lots of problems. Their game plan seemed to be around taking the game to the Netherlands and exploiting the space behind ex-Liverpool work horse Dirk Kuyt.
The Dutch looked completely out of their depth in the first half and really only managed to hit Mexico on the break a few times mainly due to sitting very deep in their own half and inviting the Mexicans onto them. The key Dutch wide players also looked very restrained and unable to get forward leaving the lone figure of Robin van Persie as a target man which really was not working against the stubborn and orderly Mexican defence.
At the break it was goalless with Mexico unlucky not to be in the lead with a very good first half performance. We did not had to wait long for a goal however as Mexico started the second half as they had left off and were rewarded with a well taken opportunity from Giovani dos Santos who struck the ball with his left foot from outside of the box. The goal was well taken and the ball hit the net low and in the right hand corner past the stricken Cillessen.
Mexico now looked well in control with the Dutch a goal down, the temperature and atmosphere getting hotter and with the Europeans faces bright red and just a few shades darker than their shirts. Mexico built on their dominance and control of the game and were unlucky not to go further ahead with even more chances all coming in the period just after the goal.
It was the Dutch that then surprisingly started to get back into the game due to fresher legs being added from the bench with Memphis Depay joining the game ten minutes into the second half for a defender and instantly taking up his place in a more attacking midfield role. This allowed the Dutch to begin to generate more possession and create more chances even though many came from optimistic long crosses into the box towards Robin van Persie in a style not expected from the Oranje.
The Mexican goalkeeper and tournament favourite Guillermo Ochoa began to see a great deal more of the action with some very impressive saves that kept the Dutch at bay and still a goal down.
The key factor that changed the game was not the introduction of a player but a “Cooling Break” which allowed Louis van Gaal to speak to his panicking players and instil a new game-plan into his side. With fifteen to go van Persie was replaced in a final throw of the dice by forward Klaas-Jan Huntelaar.
In the latter stages, the Dutch continued to pressure the Mexican defence as they began to throw everything they had into the pot in order to get a goal before the full time whistle. Bayern winger Arjen Robben started to look incredibly dangerous and was getting more and more possession which in turn created more chances.
With just two minutes to go the pressure began to tell and the Netherlands were awarded another corner. The ball was cleared to the edge of the box but Wesley Sneijder struck a bitter blow for the Mexicans as he latched onto and blasted the ball home from twenty yards and in to the Mexican net (Oranje-boom!) and past the stranded Ochoa.
This was really the first time that the Mexican defence had dropped their guard fully during the game but was it to become fatal?
Surely these two sides were now destined for another half hour of extra time and potentially a penalty shoot-out but deep into injury time Arjen Robben was adjudged to have been felled by the weary Mexican Andrés Guardado.
Was it a penalty? I really still do not know for sure even after watching lots and lots of replays of the incident. For me there was a little tiny bit of contact that Robben decided to make the most of by falling to the ground in the spectacular style that we have all become accustomed to.
Substitute Huntelaar placed the ball and composed himself for the run-up whilst wiping the pumping sweat off his forehead. The run-up was short but purposeful and the ball was tucked just inside the keeper’s right hand post with Ochoa going the wrong way. The Huntelaar penalty was a class strike given its timing, the prize at stake and was taken so well that the keeper would not have saved it even if he had dived in the right direction.
This was a bitter pill to swallow for Ochoa, the brave Mexicans and their supporting nation who had been so passionate, colourful and loud for the whole game.
An equaliser so late on and a winning penalty in injury time is a very cruel way to go out of any tournament and game of this magnitude but football can be a very cruel mistress. Mexico had dominated at least three quarters of the game and looked as though they would progress but the ending of this contest was to break Mexican hearts.
The pain of a loss in the knock out stages of the World Cup is even worse when there is a potential that you have been cheated out of the competition and the larger than life Mexican manager certainly felt this way with the following comments.
- “The penalty was an invented penalty,”
- “Today, it was the man with the whistle who eliminated us from the World Cup.”
- “Out of four matches, we had three matches where the refereeing was disastrous.”
Much of the outrage from the Mexican manager was aimed at the officials but Arjen Robben should also factor due to his usual antics that despite his great attributes is a really horrible and cheating piece of work in my opinion. He is a player that can dazzle with his pace, skill and confidence but as such appears to have another dark side of cheating to win games through diving and rolling around on the floor.
Even Robben later admitted that he had dived earlier in the game. This acceptance from him is surely admitting that he is actually a cheat but also serves as a distraction to the far more controversial penalty decision that sealed the fate of the Mexicans. This owning up exercise will be little consolation for the brave boys in green in Forteleza who in the baking Brazilian sunshine gave everything they had.
Mexico had almost done it and deservedly taken their place in the quarter finals but it was not to be. They again left the competition for the sixth time in the second round with an un-envious record going back to USA94. The Mexicans had fought with every bit of blood and lots and lots of sweat only to sink to their hands and knees as the whistle blew to end the game. This was a sad sight to see as it reflected complete exhaustion and un-rivalled disappointment at what could have been.
This game could have had a completely different outcome if Mexico had taken their earlier chances, if some of the earlier diving had been given the relevant card and ultimately if the heat had not been so incredible. Without the heat there would not have been a cooling break, without a cooling break there would not have been the opportunity for Louis van Gaal to re-organise his team and without the re-organisation I doubt very much that we would have seen a Dutch victory.
The Dutch now progress to face little Costa Rica in Salvador in the quarter finals and given the exploits and nature of the game against the Mexicans many will want the underdogs to progress to amazingly be amongst the last four teams in World Cup 2014.
For me, the man of the match has to be shared between Guillermo Ochoa and the Cooling Break.
