Confederations Cup
MexicoMexico2New ZealandNew Zealand1

Mexico 2-1 New Zealand

Hector Herrera and Ryan Thomas
Hector Herrera and Ryan Thomas clashed deep into injury time in Sochi

Mexico came from behind to beat New Zealand and moved top of the group amid ugly scenes at the Confederations Cup.

Leeds United's Chris Wood gave the All Whites a first-half lead but second-half goals by Benfica's Raul Jimenez and Oribe Peralta sealed victory.

But the game boiled over in the dying stages when Mexico skipper Diego Reyes pulled back Michael Boxall, who then lunged at Hector Herrera.

New Zealand's Ryan Thomas also became involved and a mass brawl ensued.

Referee Bakary Gassama consulted the video assistant referee before issuing three yellow cards to Reyes, Herrera and Boxall.

Mexico head coach Juan Carlos Osorio apologised for losing his temper during the match.

The 56-year-old had a heated argument with one of New Zealand's assistant coaches after Mexico's Carlos Salcedo went down with a shoulder injury in the first half.

And the Colombian coach later had to be restrained by his own bench during the brawl in injury time.

"I would like to apologise to our fans, the way I spoke to one of their assistant coaches was not OK," he said.

"There is no place for disrespect in football and I am sorry. The game was rough, almost violent on occasion, so I lost my temper."

New Zealand's head coach Anthony Hudson played down the incident.

"I thought it was bizarre really, it was like we had elbowed the player the way it was going on," he said.

Mexico, who left striker Javier Hernandez on the bench, top the group ahead of Portugal on goals scored.

Portugal beat Russia 1-0 earlier in the day - and Mexico now only need a draw against Russia in Kazan on Saturday to be sure of reaching the semi-finals.

Hosts Russia are third in the group while New Zealand remain bottom and are out of the tournament.

Hector Herrera and Michael Boxall
Boxall put in a nasty tackle on Herrera
Mexico v New Zealand
Thomas tried to pull Herrera away as he reacted to the challenge, before the two clashed heads
Mexico v New Zealand
More spats then emerged as the referee and his assistants tried to separate the players
Juan Carlos Osorio
Mexico head coach Juan Carlos Osorio had to be restrained

Line-ups

Mexico

Formation 3-1-4-2

  • 12Talavera
  • 3SalcedoSubstituted forMorenoat 33'minutesSubstituted forMárquezat 68'minutes
  • 2Araújo
  • 23AlanísSubstituted forHerreraat 45'minutesBooked at 90mins
  • 5ReyesBooked at 90mins
  • 17Damm
  • 8Fabián
  • 10G dos Santos
  • 20Aquino
  • 9Jiménez
  • 19Peralta

Substitutes

  • 1Cota
  • 4Márquez
  • 6J dos Santos
  • 7Layún
  • 11Vela
  • 13Ochoa
  • 14Hernández
  • 15Moreno
  • 16Herrera
  • 18Guardado
  • 21Reyes
  • 22Lozano

New Zealand

Formation 5-3-2

  • 1Marinovic
  • 16InghamSubstituted forPattersonat 82'minutes
  • 5BoxallBooked at 90mins
  • 22Durante
  • 20Smith
  • 3Wynne
  • 8McGlinchey
  • 15LewisSubstituted forTuilomaat 58'minutes
  • 14ThomasBooked at 26mins
  • 11RojasSubstituted forBarbarousesat 73'minutes
  • 9Wood

Substitutes

  • 2Brotherton
  • 4Tzimopoulos
  • 6Tuiloma
  • 7Barbarouses
  • 10Smeltz
  • 12Moss
  • 13Patterson
  • 17Doyle
  • 18Colvey
  • 19Rufer
  • 21Roux
  • 23Williams
Referee:
Bakary Gassama
Attendance:
25,133

Match Stats

Home TeamMexicoAway TeamNew Zealand
Possession
Home65%
Away35%
Shots
Home22
Away10
Shots on Target
Home11
Away4
Corners
Home7
Away5
Fouls
Home16
Away18

Live Text

  1. Post update

    Match ends, Mexico 2, New Zealand 1.

  2. Full Time

    Second Half ends, Mexico 2, New Zealand 1.

  3. Post update

    Foul by Raúl Jiménez (Mexico).

  4. Post update

    Michael Boxall (New Zealand) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  5. Post update

    Corner, Mexico. Conceded by Stefan Marinovic.

  6. Post update

    Attempt saved. Jürgen Damm (Mexico) right footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Marco Fabián.

  7. Booking

    Michael Boxall (New Zealand) is shown the yellow card.

  8. Booking

    Diego Reyes (Mexico) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.

  9. Booking

    Héctor Herrera (Mexico) is shown the yellow card.

  10. Post update

    Delay over. They are ready to continue.

  11. Post update

    Delay in match (Mexico).

  12. Post update

    Foul by Diego Reyes (Mexico).

  13. Post update

    Michael Boxall (New Zealand) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

  14. Post update

    Attempt blocked. Raúl Jiménez (Mexico) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Javier Aquino.

  15. Post update

    Alfredo Talavera (Mexico) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  16. Post update

    Foul by Andrew Durante (New Zealand).

  17. Post update

    Foul by Héctor Herrera (Mexico).

  18. Post update

    Chris Wood (New Zealand) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

  19. Post update

    Attempt missed. Héctor Herrera (Mexico) left footed shot from the right side of the box is too high. Assisted by Raúl Jiménez.

  20. Post update

    Corner, Mexico. Conceded by Stefan Marinovic.

As It Stood

A

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1Mexico21104314
2Portugal21103214
3Football Union of Russia21012113
4New Zealand200214-30

B

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1Chile11002023
2Germany11003213
3Australia100123-10
4Cameroon100102-20
View full Confederations Cup tables

Elsewhere on the BBC