Portugal vs Mexico Betting Preview

Portugal and Mexico lock horns for the first time in history in their Group D meeting at Gelsenkirchen on June 21 - and what a match it promises to be. Portugal, ranked seventh in the world by FIFA, have already progressed to the second phase but if Mexico beat them, it will be as runners-up, not winners as has been widely expected. The Mexicans have more to play for in this encounter because, although it's unlikely that Angola will beat Iran by four or more goals in their fixture, stranger things have happened at sea. If indeed this does happen, and Mexico are defeated by Portugal, then El Tricolor's next stop will be Mexico City. However, this is an unlikely occurrence, and although Mexico disappointed when unable to collect all three points from their game with Angola in Hanover, I expect them to raise their game significantly ahead of this clash with Big Phil Scolari's charges. It has to be said, that Mexico's FIFA ranking of fourth flatters them somewhat. This ranking is by virtue of the number of games they have won - and Ricardo Antonio La Volpe's men, with all due respect, are blessed with a notoriously weak regional group - so, once again, the FIFA rankings are not worth the paper they're printed on, as they are extremely inconclusive. However, don't take anything away from the Mexicans, they are a class act when they collectively put their best boot forward, and they have faced their first two matches of this tournament without their record-breaking hitman Jared Borgetti, who will hopefully be back in the mix in time for this crucial game. Omar Bravo, despite scoring a brace in the 3-1 win over Iran, and Guillermo Franco were, it's fair to say, found wanting against the Angolans in a match which is probably best forgotten, as Mexico simply weren't at the races. One hopes that internal bickering doesn't continue to cause problems within El Tri's ranks, as it's patently clear that La Volpe won't entertain the prospect of playing Jose Fonseca unless all other avenues are exhausted. This is a real shame because the twenty-six-year-old is a talented striker, and a prolific one at that having netted nineteen goals in thirty-one appearances. He should start this game, as should Ramon Morales, who gave the Mexicans the much-needed width they were initially lacking when coming on against Angola. Portugal were frustrated by Iran in the first half of their match with the Middle-Eastern outfit in Frankfurt at the weekend, but normal service was resumed after the interval, and a superb Deco strike in the sixty-third minute was enough to put the game to bed long before Cristiano Ronaldo tucked away a penalty kick ten minutes from time. As they've already qualified, chances are that Portugal will rest one or all of their key players, including Deco, Figo, Pauleta and Ronaldo, although one suspects that they will be keen to qualify as winners, because the runners-up in this group will meet those that emerge on top of Group C which, at the time of writing, looks likely to be Argentina. Surely they would rather face those that are poised to finish second in that group, Holland. Personally, though, I reckon that Mexico will rise to the occasion and beat the Portugese. But I'm not willing to put my money where my mouth is, because there is a very strong chance that, if Portugal approach this game with the objective of attaining a draw, then the Mexicans could be in for a frustrating time of it. With this in mind, I rate the 2/1 on offer with Betfred about Mexico keeping a clean sheet the best value bet on offer. The reasoning behind this is that Portugal are unlikely to go out with all guns blazing and will probably rest their key attacking players. As such, I expect Mexico to be the one's forcing the issue as they have much more to lose at this stage. Verdict - 1pt Mexico to maintain a clean sheet @ 2/1 (Betfred)