(Getty)
Final Score
Mexico – 0 – 2 2
New Zealand – 1 – 0 1
Post-match:
Late Brawl:
Goal: Peralta (72′)
Goal: Jiminez (54′)
Goal: Wood (43)’
Prematch
Big changes for Mexico. No Chicharito, Talavera in for Ochoa, and almost an entirely different eleven to face New Zealand.
Preview
After a hard-fought draw with Portugal in their opener, Mexico face New Zealand on Wednesday. The match will play a large role in deciding the standings, where Mexico will compete with Portugal and Russia for the two spots in Group A.
New Zealand is the biggest underdog in the tournament, and had a rough going against Russia in the opener. The All Whites fell 2-0 to the host country, and could be eliminated early if things don’t go well on Wednesday.
These two teams would normally have no experience against each other, but they actually played a friendly last year. It was before the groups for Confederations Cup had been announced, and Mexico was even criticized for scheduling a pushover opponent like New Zealand. Mexico won the friendly 2-1 in Nashville, and now they have valuable experience heading into the tournament.
Mexico had problems at times with Portugal in the opener, but were always able to muster a response. Quaresma opened the scoring for Portugal, but Chicharito was able to respond before halftime. Cedric looked to have put the game away in the 86th minute, only for Hector Moreno to force a draw in extra time.
Mexico now have one point after one match, and have to play the hosts Russia before the round ends. That makes three points against New Zealand incredubly important, knowing that the other two teams in the group will likely earn the same result.
Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. Eastern. Stay here for full match highlights, including video of every goal.
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