Mexico vs Brazil [2-1] Full Match Highlights I Mexico Wins Soccer Gold Medal

Mexico’s performances have improved throughout the tournament, and El Tri seems to be peaking at just the right time. Unfortunately, standout striker Giovani Dos Santos will miss the final with a leg strain, which will make winning that little bit harder. Still, of all the 16 teams, Mexico alone looks like it could upset Brazil’s quest for gold.

Oribe Peralta and Marco Fabian will likely start up front, while Miguel Ponce could fit the bill as Dos Santos’ replacement. Like Brazil, Mexico is also looking for its first gold medal at soccer and has beaten Brazil in two other finals­ the 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup and the Under-17 World Championship in 2005.

And then there’s Brazil. The team has everything you’d fear from previous teams–a wobbly goalkeeper (Gabriel replaced Rafael Cabral on the eve of the tournament and looks like a kid who’s won a “keep goal for Brazil” contest), and some suspect defending has left the Brazilians needing to win games simply by scoring more goals than they concede.

And they have bagged three goals per game.

This game is a huge test for Brazil. The squad will form the nucleus of Brazil’s World Cup team in 2014, a tournament they’ll be both hosting and expected to win. Manolo Menezes also knows that a win today will give him some breathing space from the press and public. Lose, and the prospect of a pink slip increases.

“We all know that we need to win the gold,” Menezes said. “Brazil has to win every tournament it plays, it needs to win every match it plays, even if it’s a friendly. And this time even more because it’s it’s something the nation has never won before.” (That first scoop of muesli is on us.)

Brazil’s players have also been at the forefront of a sluggish European transfer window ­ Lucas Moura has snubbed Manchester for the lights of Paris and the petrodollars of Paris St. Germain, Oscar has joined Chelsea, while the leading scorer, Leandro Damaio, and the aptly-named Hulk are also the subjects of intense transfer speculation. The big prize remains Neymar, who has the pick of the world’s clubs waiting for him, should he choose to leave home.