Challenge

Estadio Azteca
Spectators: 44 (Terracing: 34, Seating: 10, VIP seats: 0) Mexico's Joel Gaona started the match with a crisp pass. The crowd had been anticipating this game for weeks and the excitement in the stadium was easily visible. 4 minutes into the match, Esperança FC's goalkeeper Fabiano Saldanha had to clear away a ball on his right side after a cunning shot by Lautaro Mancebo. The audience was convinced that Luca Zorita's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Fabiano Saldanha was relentless in the 9th minute of the game. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Luís de Moraes in the 12th managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Dante Lacasa saved Mexico from getting behind. Luca Zorita might have been able to make a better finish in the 15th minute when he tried to place a hard shot over Fabiano Saldanha. Instead the ball went over the crossbar and out. Luca Zorita ran back to his position shaking his head. Esperança FC's Fabiano Saldanha played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Joel Gaona in the 17th minute of play. Esperança FC's Fabiano Saldanha played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Joel Gaona in the 20th minute of play. 22 minutes into the match, Mexico's goal looked a bit too open when Luís de Moraes came free, but Dante Lacasa reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. After 23 minutes, Lorenzo Cazalla mouthed his way into the referee's book. The tension between the Mexico and the Esperança FC players grew even worse after the yellow card. Dante Lacasa showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Adilson de Alcântara in the 25th minute of the match. 25 minutes into the game, Adilson de Alcântara cracked a shot to the right of the goalkeeper, 0-1. Dante Lacasa was not in position, and could only watch the ball fly in. In the 27th minute Luís de Moraes shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Dante Lacasa saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. After a rather tough play, Esperança FC's Adilson de Alcântara got a free kick in the 28th minute. After a rather tough play, Mexico's Felix Luque got a free kick in the 34th minute. Luís de Moraes received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 35th minute. Dante Lacasa tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. In the 36th minute of the match, Joel Gaona tried to roll the ball into the goal by the right post, but Fabiano Saldanha saw his intentions and got control of the ball before it passed the line. An unexpectedly hard shot by Andrézinho das Neves in the 43rd minute of play forced Mexico's goalkeeper Dante Lacasa to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball.

Joel Gaona sent away a hard shot on goal in the 52nd minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. If Joel Gaona had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 56th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. An unexpectedly hard shot by Luís de Moraes in the 57th minute of play forced Mexico's goalkeeper Dante Lacasa to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. With a little luck, Mexico's Dante Lacasa got control of the ball when Luís de Moraes tried to sneak it across the goal line. An unexpectedly hard shot by Andrézinho das Neves in the 67th minute of play forced Mexico's goalkeeper Dante Lacasa to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. After a rather tough play, Esperança FC's Miguel Santos got a free kick in the 68th minute. In the 70th minute of the match Mexico got a corner. Esperança FC's goalie ran out to the linesman to protest the call, but the linesman resolutely pointed his flag at the cornerflag. Joel Gaona ran over to the corner to take the kick. After 71 played minutes Esperança FC got a freekick which was hit by Hílton Mangueira. Fabiano Saldanha didn't have a chance when a screaming shot from Luca Zorita went, in the 74th minute, to the upper right corner, 1-1 was the resulting score. Fabiano Saldanha took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Luca Zorita, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. In the 78th minute Luca Zorita shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Fabiano Saldanha saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Fabiano Saldanha showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Joel Gaona in the 83rd minute of the match. After some careless play in the Esperança FC defense, Alberto Tafalla kicked a shot that curved into the net to the right of Fabiano Saldanha. The Esperança FC fans voiced their displeasure as they felt that Fabiano Saldanha should have stopped the shot. Alberto Tafalla struck a weak shot in the 92nd minute. Fabiano Saldanha didn't even have to move as the ball rolled over the line well wide of the goal. A wasted opportunity for Mexico. Mexico's supporters were delighted with their team's performance and swarmed onto the pitch at the end of the match to celebrate the victory with the players.