The World Cup 2014 schedule is live Tuesday with Brazil and Mexico matching up in Group A and the game comes from Fortaleza with a live stream on WatchESPN and ESPN Radio starting at 3 pm ET and this is one of the most anticipated matchups of the tournament and is the second game for each during the group stage after the Brazilian team won over Croatia in the opener and El Tri won against Cameroon.
Brazil did not look great in the first match of the tournament, but they pulled away with a win and that’s all that matters and they got two goals from Neymar and will be looking to repeat that result. Brazil got a lucky break after a penalty kick was called on a dive by Fred and Neymar was able to convert for his second goal and that allowed the team to bounce back from the own goal given up to Croatia to start the game. Hulk will be out for this matchup after dealing with an injury in training and while that will be a loss for Brazil, they are deep enough to withstand it. Mexico and Brazil have history and El Tri has been a thorn in the side of the host nation by winning seven of the past 13 times in major matchups and that includes the Olympics when the team won over Brazil, but they got some revenge at the Confederations Cup last year. The Confed usually doesn’t mean much for the World Cup, but it gave Brazil confidence and now they are one of the favorites in the entire tournament.
Neymar has been dealing with a sore ankle and while he looked fine in the game to open the tournament, it could crop up later down the line. Giovani dos Santos is the player to watch for Mexico, as he was the man of the match in the opening game for El Tri and since the team is not at 100 percent, he will need to be at his best once again. Paulinho is someone that will bet attention from the Mexican side and he could be ready to have a big game and Brazil could basically lock up a spot in the knockout rounds with a win against Mexico.
The United States actually helped Mexico get into the World Cup with a win to eliminate another team in their region and that put El Tri in a playoff with New Zealand. The United States won their opening game against Ghana and they now have three points heading into their next matchup against Portugal and that will be in Manaus at the Amazon Stadium. Clint Dempsey scored in the first minute of the game and the US was able to hold on to the lead for 80 minutes before allowing a goal to Ghana and just when it looked like the team would only get a point, they got a goal off a corner from Graham Zusi to John Brooks, who put it in for the eventual 2-1 victory.
Group A should get Brazil into the knockout round, but no team in this draw is easy to play and Mexico and Brazil start things off with this matchup heading into the second week of Group play.