Mexico coach Juan Carlos Osorio has many reasons to be upset. His team is out of the World Cup, the squad didn't play that well in its last two matches (zero goals scored), and there's a chance he's looking for a new coaching job before long. It was a frustrating performance on Monday, a 2-0 loss to World Cup favorites Brazil.
And though he was angry at the officials, he was also furious with Brazil star Neymar, who scored the winning goal. In the second half, down on the sideline, Neymar was stepped up by Miguel Layun. It didn't look like anything too forceful, and while being stepped on by a cleat isn't fun, Neymar certainly looked to have played it up quite a bit.
Here's what it looked like:
Fair or foul? 😳 pic.twitter.com/XMJUEzEctz
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) July 2, 2018
After the match, Osorio didn't hold back.
"We had control of the match, but to me it is just shameful that so much time could be lost over one player," the Mexico coach said, according to ESPN.
"The delay for one player lasted four minutes, and that is a lesson for even children who play. This should be a game of men and not so much clowning around."
It's worth pointing out that it's not a game for just men. Sorry, Osorio.
With that out of the way, Osorio has a point about the theatrics, because there's no room for the level of acting we sometimes see. It certainly looked like Neymar was trying to get Layun booked for his stomp, but there's also the chance that it was actually pretty painful. In the end, Layun was fortunate to escape the incident without at least a yellow card. And luckily for Neymar, Layun didn't step on his ankle with more weight behind it, because that could result in a serious injury.
That being said, in no way shape or form was that incident the deciding factor in the game. Mexico had its chances and the team was wasteful, putting just one out of 13 shots on frame. If Osorio has to be upset, it should be with himself and his team for not clicking when it mattered most.
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