Croatia lose 3-1 to Mexico in 2014 Fifa World Cup

Mexico went on overdrive to overpower a committed and stubborn Croatia. The tactical maturity and discipline of the strategy won the day for the Mexicans, as they had to absorb pressure and mount attacks in reasonably acceptable portions.

The spaces between defenders and midfielders were kept to the desired specifications, and the angles of support were superb. They provided ample cover for the first defender and stayed composed and concentrated to keep their performance levels at optimum.

It was in response to the relentless attack from the Europeans who sort to destabilise and crack them in the early minutes of the match. Their excellent starting positions provided a springboard from which to mount counter attacks. They became a real threat going forward and stretched the Croatians who reacted well to keep the Aztec Warriors at bay.

This had to change in the second half. Herrera took a corner kick and found Marquez who opened the day’s account with a header at the centre of the box. The Croatian marking bestowed a chance upon the Mexicans to score. The goalkeeper failed to deal with that header as he stayed on his line and dived in vain. He could have tried to move a step forward and dive.

In a matter of five minutes, Guardado had doubled the score as his left footed shot beat the goalkeeper after the industrious Peratta supplied the killer pass. It was becoming a little easy as the Europeans lost grip of the match and gave Mexico the initiative.

Chicharitto ended the show with a typical close range header. The Manchester United goal-poacher was always in the thick of things with his great attitude as he sought to make a difference, as he always does. It followed a corner kick as Marquez set him up with a header.

Rakitic had time to supply Perisic with a ball that was nothing but a face-saver for Croatia. Perisic had to be well composed to score from an acute angle to leave the score at 3-1.