Brazil will be without left-back Marcelo due to a back problem, so Filipe Luis will take his place against a Mexico side not to be taken lightly.
These teams drew 0-0 in the group stage of the last World Cup, and Mexico qualified for the last 16 here at the expense of Germany, beating the holders 1-0 in Moscow in their opening game.
Now, ‘El Tri’ are bidding to end the ‘Curse of the Fifth Game’ – they have never made it to the quarterfinals of a World Cup on foreign soil and have suffered six consecutive eliminations in the first knockout round, not managing to reach that fifth game.
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However, coach Juan Carlos Osorio said he was not concerned about past history.
“We don’t talk about that to our players. We spoke about the possibility of coming up against Brazil a few months ago, and here we are,” he said.
The winner of that tie will go on to face the winner of Monday’s other game, which sees Belgium meet Japan in Rostov-on-Don (1800 GMT).
Roberto Martinez’s dangerous side have lived up to their billing so far, winning all three group games. A host of key players were rested for the 1-0 victory against England, including Hazard, Lukaku and Kevin De Bruyne, but they will return here.
However, Adnan Januzaj, who scored the winner in that match, has suffered a knee knock in training.
This might be the best chance for Belgium’s ‘golden generation’ to win a major trophy after being eliminated in the last eight at the 2014 World Cup and Euro 2016.
“This is our time to shine, definitely. We have top players and we play as a group, especially after the win over England,” said Chelsea star Hazard.
“It’s in our hands, we need to give everything and see what happens.”
Japan reached this stage in controversial manner, by virtue of collecting fewer yellow cards in the group phase than Senegal. They have never won a knockout-round game at the competition.
“Maybe Belgium feel the tournament is starting after their three wins, but I’d like to feel we are on a par with them. We have played to our best, but the players have something more to offer,” said coach Akira Nishino
Source:AFP.com
