Brazil vs. Mexico: Score, Recap and Analysis for Toulon Tournament Match

After a strong start from Mexico, the Brazilians took the lead just before halftime and controlled the action in the second half.

They captured a big 1-0 win in this battle of under-20 sides in the Toulon tournament on Friday at Stade des Costières in Nîmes, France.

The win gave the Brazilians an important early edge in Group B of the tournament. Mexico is the defending champion, so not only did the Brazilians weaken perhaps their stiffest competition's cause, they also captured a good measure of confidence.

That can never be understated with such young players.

Mexico's promising beginnings were highlighted by winning two corners and finding holes in Brazil's defense, but they couldn't turn the opportunities into goals.

The moment their vaunted defense lost focus late in the first half, Brazil made them pay.

How it Happened

Araujo's First-Half Goal

The ice-breaker goal came from Vinicius Araujo in the 36th minute. BeInSport had the exciting social media account—as well as the telecast of the event—but Fox Soccer Trax had a more detailed account of the sequence.

Fox Soccer Trax also reminds fans that because of the volume of matches in a short period of time at the Toulon tournament, match times have been trimmed by 10 minutes.

Missed Opportunities and Loss of Composure

In the second half, Mexico had opportunities to tie the score, but they could not.

Armando Zamorano blew perhaps Mexico's best opportunity to score during the 48th minute of play. 

Later in the half, Hedgardo Marin lost a bit of self-control and received a red card for dirty play. In summary, the Mexicans' defense received no assistance from the team's attack.

Mexico will have to hope Brazil falters and that they themselves can improve for the remainder of group play.

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