World Cup fans in Mexico happy now, but face long odds against Brazil

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Mexico’s fans following Wednesday’s World Cup loss still celebrated, but only because Korea’s win over Germany propelled El Tri into the next round.

“Koreans, brothers, they are Mexicans!” was the war cry of the Yucatecan fanatics who were seen at the Monumento a la Patria to celebrate their good fortune Round of 16, despite the defeat at the hands of the Swedish team three goals to zero.

Again, the morning game paralyzed activity. Despite being a work day, the streets were silent while fans watched the game broadcast live from Russia.

After the game, enthusiasts began arriving at the monument. Marco Delgadillo, wearing a replica of Mexico’s uniform, took the time he could leave his office and pick up his children to celebrate. He blamed the coach, Juan Carlos Osorio, for bad strategy, but was still relieved that Mexico would qualify for the next round.

The number of fans was not sufficient to help a vendor, Don Jesus Ce, who came to sell patriotic flags. Police in the area outnumbered fans, according to one news site.

Given the small number of fans, the police decided to open the roundabout to cars, so the fans had to continue their celebration on the sidewalk.

Game outlook

Mexico is underdog at Monday’s game, which will be broadcast 9 a.m. local time. Brazil is given a 64 percent chance to win, according to oddsmakers. Mexico’s chances of winning are placed at 13 percent, with the remaining 23 percent are given to a draw.

In its four previous World Cup confrontations with Brazil, Mexico never scored a single goal.

“Mexico needs to reboot quickly to overcome high-flying Brazil in round of 16,” writes ESPN. Unlike Brazil, Mexico has not gotten past the round-of-16 stage at any of the past six World Cups. In fact, Mexico has won only one knockout game ever at the tournament.

With information from La Jornada Maya