Mexico come from behind to beat Portugal in thriller quarter final
|Image: Travis Torres
Mexico earned a thrilling comeback victory over Portugal in their Men Trophy Stage Quarter-Final tie.
Having been 2-1 down at half-time after a cagey first half in which Portugal had the upper hand, Mexico found their rhythm in the second half and their shooting boots to score five and run out eventual 6-3 winners.
Portugal took the game to Mexico from the get-go and found the back of the net with their first chance on goal.
Mexico worked to get a proper foothold in the game but came up against a Portugal side who held up possession well and defended strongly.
Mexico eventually fashioned their first few chances, with one strike whizzing over the bar and a second parried by the Portugal goalkeeper at full stretch, before another chance went off-target.
A clearance from a Portugal free-kick then found Mexico in a two-on-one situation, which they took advantage of to make it 1-1.
Then, after some strong hold-up play to fend off Mexico near the corner, a Portugal player slid a great pass across goal for his teammate to slot home to give Portugal the lead, before Mexico missed double chance to draw themselves level before half-time, with one shot going wide before a second shot cannoning off the underside of the bar.
After the restart, a quickly-taken Mexico freekick found a player with time and space on the edge of the box, but he was denied by a brilliant save from the Portugal goalkeeper.
Portugal soon found themselves 3-1 up after a rebound broke to a Portugal player alone up the park and he slotted cooly by the Mexican goalkeeper, before Portugal missed a chance for a fourth after a nice turn and shot strayed wide of the post.
Mexico turned up the pressure as they chased a goal to get them back in the game, and it came after a quick-break on the left-hand side, before they soon found themselves level thanks to a rasping shot from distance.
With Mexican tails up, a left-foot strike from the left-hand side past the Portugal goalkeeper into the far corner saw them go 4-3 up.
Some good work again down the left-hand-side saw a Mexico player find space to drill home and send his team into a 5-3 lead.
With Portugal chasing the game, another quick break by Mexico saw a player in space to slot home and see them into a 6-3 lead, before a double-save by the Mexican keeper kept their three-goal cushion intact as the game drew to a close.
Speaking after the game, Mexico coach Heriberto Espejel Cuellar said: “I’m very happy for the victory. It was a hard-fought win for our side. Portugal were a very difficult team. We had to come from behind but we never lost our heads and played our match and the result came in the end.”
Words: Craig Williams
Images: Travis Torres