Saudi Arabia vs Mexico now live: The Mexican lead is in the air

Created: 11/30/2022, 4:43 p.m

By: Stefan Schmid

Mexico and Saudi Arabia seek their salvation on the offensive.

© IMAGO/Paul Chesterton

For the supposed underdogs Saudi Arabia and Mexico it is about progressing to the round of 16.

The live ticker for the game.

• World Cup 2022, Group C: Saudi Arabia

  0-0 Mexico (-:-)

• Mexico will be without their injured captain Guardado in the starting XI

• Due to the group constellation: arithmetic games before the encounter

• To refresh, press F5 or swipe the smartphone screen down.

World Cup 2022: Saudi Arabia - Mexico 0-0 (-:-)

28 minutes:

Now there is also the first yellow card for Saudi Arabia.

Al-Shehri elbowed a little too high in a duel and hit his opponent.

27 minutes:

What a chance for Pineda!

Lozano pulls a cross from the right sharply towards the far post, where Pineda runs in, but only hits the defender in front of him with a header.

Al-Owais would have been defeated.

25th Minute:

Another Mexican degree, which now clearly take control.

Pineda's low shot poses no problem for the Saudi keeper. There was probably a defender's foot between them, which defused the shot a bit.

23 minutes:

After Saudi Arabia was unable to clear the ball out of the danger zone for a long time, Chavez tried a volley from a distance.

No problem for Al-Owais, who can record the conclusion that is too central.

Saudi Arabia vs. Mexico: Attractive exchange of blows

20 minutes:

The spectators see a very attractive game here, in which both teams do not waste time with scanning and exuberant build-up play.

Mexico have had the better chances so far, but Saudi Arabia also seem capable of scoring at any time.

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16 minutes:

First yellow card in what has been a very fair game so far.

Alvarez is cautioned for a foul on Tambakti in the attacking half.

13 minutes:

Kanno takes the free kick from a central position, but then aims a few meters too high.

12 minutes:

Abdulhamid switches on the turbo in midfield and drives the ball to the front of the Mexicans' penalty area.

He can only be stopped with a foul shortly before the sixteen.

free kick.

Will Saudi Arabia have the first chance to score?

7th minute:

It's getting dangerous again in the Saudi penalty area!

Gallardo swings a sharp cross in front of goal and Al-Owais remains rooted to the spot, although if he comes across the ball he could easily pick it up.

At the last moment, the keeper reacts and clears something unorthodox forward.

3 minutes:

Mexico continues to accelerate and almost takes the lead.

A fine pass reaches Alexis Vega, who then fails to get the ball past Al-Owais, who rushes out.

2 minutes:

The Mexicans' first approach to the goal.

The goal from a good 20 meters goes a good distance to the right of the housing.

The ball rolls!

Update, 7:59 p.m .:

The anthem is sung, the teams take their positions and now expect referee Michael Oliver from England to release the game.

Saudi Arabia vs Mexico: Can a team pull off the big surprise?

Update, 7:55 p.m .:

The countdown is on, only five minutes until kick-off.

The players are ready for the national anthems.

Update, 7.45 p.m .:

Another quarter of an hour until the game between Saudi Arabia and Mexico is kicked off.

Although the parallel game between Argentina and Poland can probably come up with well-known players, the game of the two underdogs has at least as much appeal.

Should one of the two teams qualify for the round of 16 today, you can certainly follow the really big football emotions here.

Update, 7.30 p.m .:

Not only in Mexico, but also on the other side in Saudi Arabia, they had to deal with injuries in the run-up to the game.

While midfielder Mohamed Kanno got fit in time for the game, defender Mohammed Al-Buraik, who is also injured, can only come from the substitutes' bench.

World Cup 2022: Mexico's captain Guardado injured on the bench

Update, 7:15 p.m .:

Mexico’s coach Gerardo Martino initially relinquishes his slightly injured captain André Guardado, who will sit on the bench.

Should the score make it necessary, the captain could still be used.

In addition, Martino again relies on a clear striker this time with Martin.

Mexico captain Andrés Guardado is injured and will not start against Saudi Arabia.

© IMAGO/Alberto Estevez

Update, 7:03 p.m .:

The lineups are here!

Since both teams are almost certainly dependent on a win, the offensive line-up of the two teams is no wonder.

Both coaches are looking for their salvation in attack, which will certainly improve the attractiveness of the game.

Update from November 30, 6:52 p.m .:

The lineups of the two teams should be published in a few minutes.

At 8 p.m., the whistle will kick off for the decisive last matchday of Group C. All four teams still have the opportunity to advance to the round of 16, so the games will be full of tension.

World Cup 2022: Group C after two matchdays

Saudi Arabia vs Mexico: Who will reach the World Cup Round of 16?

First report from November 30th:

Lusail – Everything is still open on the last matchday of Group C and the two underdogs Saudi Arabia and Mexico can still have legitimate hopes of progressing to the knockout round of the 2022 World Cup.

This is also due to the fact that both were able to surprise in the first group game against the favorites.

Saudi Arabia sensationally defeated Argentina 2-1, while Mexico drew 0-0 from Poland led by Robert Lewandowski.

Now the direct duel between the two teams is imminent, which, to the astonishment of many observers, both kept their chances for the round of 16.

Saudi Arabia, with three points, has a better starting position than the Mexicans, who are at the bottom of the group with one point going into the last matchday.

Saudi Arabia vs Mexico live today: arithmetic games before the match

If Saudi Arabia wins, they are sure to be in the round of 16.

So short, so simple.

But for all other possibilities there are various eventualities that could be enough for one of the two teams.

A draw is enough for the Saudis, if in the parallel game (here in the live ticker) Poland wins by two goals (or more) against Argentina.

With the same goal difference with the gauchos, Saudi Arabia would benefit from the win from the first group game.

You can read here which automatisms apply in the event of a tie.

For the Mexicans, on the other hand, even a win may not be enough.

The Central Americans are through with their own victory if Poland wins no matter how high.

If Argentina wins, they need to have a better goal difference than Poland when the game is over.

On the other hand, should there be a draw between the Polish national team and the Gauchos, Mexico must win by at least four goals. 

Saudi Arabia vs Mexico live today: will Ochoa's front men break the knot?

Mexican goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa has achieved cult status.

Not only is his hair responsible for this, but also his notorious World Cup performances.

It's almost as if the keeper would emerge from oblivion at every World Cup - it's his fifth - and deliver terrific performances out of nowhere.

He also made headlines in this tournament when he saved Robert Lewandowski's penalty in the first group game.

Mexico's Guillermo Ochoa wants to keep his goal clean against Saudi Arabia.

© IMAGO/Yukihito Taguchi

On the other hand, it looks completely different in the offensive of the Mexicans.

So far, coach Gerardo Martino's team have not scored a goal, even though Hirving Lozano from SSC Napoli would be a proven goalscorer in the squad.

So the eyes of the Mexican fans will probably be more on the offensive than on Guillermo Ochoa this time.