World Cup 2022: Mexico Face Must-Win Situation Against Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia vs Mexico

Mexico’s impressive run of making the knockout round in each of the last eight World Cups they’ve taken part in is under serious threat.

El Tri are in last place in Group C with just one point and head into their final group match against Saudi Arabia in need of a win to even stand a chance of going through to the World Cup 2022 round of 16.

Meanwhile, the Saudis know that a win would see them through to the World Cup knockout round for the second time in their history.

Talking Points

Saudis in a position of strength

The magic that the Saudi Arabians showed in their shock win over Argentina wore off as they lost 2-0 in their second match against Poland.

The Saudis played reasonably well – they controlled 64 per cent of possession and outshot the Poles 16-9 – but they were simply unable to make the breakthrough. They were even denied by a brilliant double save by Wojciech Szczesny from a penalty.

But despite the defeat, the Saudis are still in a decent position to qualify in Group C. Their fate is still in their own hands as a win over Mexico would guarantee their place in the round of 16. They could also still qualify with a draw, although they would need Argentina to lose in the other game.

Salem Al-Dawsari has been Saudi Arabia’s star man at World Cup 2022. The 31-year-old scored the winning goal against Argentina and had four shots against Poland. He will be out to redeem himself against Mexico after his penalty was saved by Szczesny.

With Mexico needing to win this match and, the Saudis can afford to sit back and play on the counter-attack, which will be to their advantage since that is how they prefer to play. They should also feel reasonably confident in their ability to limit a Mexican attack that has yet to score in the tournament.

Misfiring Mexico simply must win

Mexico have made it safely through to the round of 16 in each of the last eight World Cups they have taken part in. (They were banned in 1990.)

However, that streak is under serious threat as they have picked up only one point from their first two games. After a goalless draw with Poland, they were dealt a 2-0 defeat by Argentina in their last game, so they now face a must-win situation against Saudi Arabia to stand any chance of making it through.

Mexico’s defence has done its part thus far. They limited a Polish attack featuring the prolific Robert Lewandowski and Piotr Zielinski to just six shots. Meanwhile, they held Messi’s Argentina to just five shots, two of which turned out to be extremely well-taken goals that have been among the top the World Cup 2022 highlights thus far.

But the El Tri attack has simply not been good enough in Qatar. Raul Jimenez’s lack of form has been a huge blow to the side, which is sorely missing a reliable striker who can get shots and score goals. Meanwhile, Hirving Lozano has been unable to provide the attacking spark the team desperately needs from him.

Coach Tata Martino started Lozano and Alexis Vega as he switched to a 5-3-2 formation against Argentina. But with his side in a must-win situation, he may return to the 4-3-3 that he played with against Poland to try and provide more attacking threat.

History

Mexico and Saudi Arabia have met five times before, three times in the Confederations Cup and twice in international friendlies. Mexico have won four of those matches, while the other match was a goalless draw.

As mentioned earlier, Mexico have made it to the round of 16 in seven straight World Cups. As for Saudi Arabia, they will be hoping to make it past the group stage for just the second time in six tries.

Betting Tip

SBOTOP World Cup 2022 betting odds have Mexico installed as 1.68 favourites to get the win they need to keep their World Cup 2022 dreams alive. Saudi Arabia are priced at 4.60, while a draw is 3.90.

Group C has been a relatively low-scoring group, and this match could very well be another low-goal affair.

Mexico will have almost no choice but to open up more against the Saudis as they search for the win, but it remains to be seen if they can break down an organised Saudi defence. And on the other side, Saudi Arabia could also find Mexico’s defence a tough nut to crack.

 

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