Goals: Mexico—Oribe Peralta 61'
Recap: Not even a torrential downpour could distinguish Mexico's potent attack against Cameroon, seeing El Tri capture an impressive 1-0 victory. Much like the World Cup opener, however, controversy surrounded the match.
Not one, but two goals from Mexico's Giovani dos Santos were wrongly called offside by the linesman in the first half. Never phased, dos Santos continued his onslaught following halftime. An impressive turn forced Cameroon's Charles Itandje to parry his strike into imminent danger. Oribe Peralta, crashing the area, finished the only goal of the match.
A diving save from Guillermo Ochoa in stoppage sealed the victory.
The scoreline reflected a minimal advantage, but the dominance of Miguel Herrera's men should not be understated.
Key Moment: Incredibly, the key moment of the match happened 24 hours before kickoff. Finding the ideal striker partner for Oribe Peralta remained Miguel Herrera's priority entering the 2014 World Cup. Many favored Manchester United's Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez, but the stellar form of dos Santos forced Herrera's hand elsewhere. From start to finish, the Villarreal man proved to be the difference in Mexico's victory, even if the referees did their best to counter it.
Man of the Match: Was there ever a doubt who this would be? Undoubtedly, the award belongs to Giovani dos Santos. His stat line should read two goals and a fantasy assist—the assist coming on the opportunity created for Peralta to finish—but the referees ensured his brace could not be celebrated. Only Juan Vazquez (94 percent) had a higher pass completion percentage than the 25-year-old (89 percent).
Lesson Learned: Mexico is better than advertised. After a poor World Cup qualifying campaign, El Tri continued to show improvement under Miguel Herrera. The culmination of three fired coaches and an overturned roster was 90 minutes of inspiring football on the world's biggest stage. El Tri have never shied away from a matchup with Brazil. After today's performance against Cameroon, there's zero indication they'll start now.
Up Next: Mexico travel to Fortaleza to meet host-nation Brazil on June 17. Cameroon visit Manaus to face Croatia in a possible elimination match.
Note: Credit all statistics to officially licensed data from Opta Sports (via WhoScored).
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