Saudi Arabia v Mexico: Lozano to lead from the front in 12/1 Bet Builder

Paul Higham
29 November 2022
1:00 min read

Hirving Lozano needs to step up for Mexico against Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia vs Mexico
Wed 30 Nov, 18:00

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Paul Higham takes a look at Saudi Arabia v Mexico for Wednesday's props column and fancies Hirving Lozano to have a say in his Bet Builder selection...

Back Lozano to hit the target and give away a foul
Salem will shoot for Saudi Arabia
Back a shouts & fouls Bet Builder at 12/1
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It's all up for grabs in a fascinating Group C with all four teams able to go through as surprising Saudi Arabia face winless Mexico for what should be a thrilling finale.

The Saudis stunned the world by beating Argentina, but then a 2-0 loss to Poland saw them come crashing back down the earth, while Mexico had a missed penalty to thank for a draw with the Poles before Argentina just did enough to grind them down in a bruising encounter.

The permutations are plentiful but the simplest one is a Saudi win will secure their first ever progression out of the group stages - while just bettering Argentina's result against Poland will also do it.

Only a win and a prayer will do for Mexico, but they'll be going full throttle as they have done in both their previous games even though they just lacked the finishing touches at times to capitalise on some otherwise decent play.

Saudi Arabia

Mexico

Saudi Arabia 1 2 Bolivia
Saudi Arabia 1 2 Venezuela
Saudi Arabia 1 2 Mexico
Poland 2 0 Saudi Arabia
Argentina 1 2 Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia 0 1 Croatia

Saudi Arabia 1 2 Mexico
Argentina 2 0 Mexico
Mexico 0 0 Poland
Mexico 1 2 Sweden
Mexico 4 0 Iraq
Mexico 2 3 Colombia

Saudi Arabia vs Mexico Wednesday 30 November, 18:00

Full stats

Their results in Qatar mirror their overall World Cup form - as the Mexicans have qualified for the knockouts on their last eight appearances but not managed to go too much further, while they've appeared in the most World Cups (16) without ever winning it.

They'll need a goal to maintain their recent run, and while that's not something they've managed in their last four World Cup games, the fact Saudi Arabia only have one clean sheet in their 18 World Cup games to date suggests that they'll have as good a chance as ever.

Saudi Arabia's Salem Al-Dawsari will still be kicking himself for the penalty miss against Poland that could've changed the game, as they surprisingly dominated possession and attempts on goal - producing a similar stat line to Mexico against the Poles so this game could be a lot more even than the odds suggest.

Al-Dawsari is a good shout for a shot on target at 11/10 as he's hit the target with three of his four efforts on goal so far

Both sides don't mind putting their foot in either, with Saudi Arabia edging the stats with 36 fouls so far in their two games to Mexico's 33 - led by Abdulellah Al-Malki who has been carded twice from eight fouls, with Saud Abdulhamid on seven fouls and Mohamed Kanno six.

For Mexico, who will be a more desperate side, Alexis Vega leads the way with seven shots so far but with only one hitting the target he needs to sharpen up a bit, and in this big game you'd expect Hirving Lozano to liven up after just two shots so far.

Lozano should carry a bit more of the burden here so expect him to hit the target at least, and he's just 1/4 for a shot on target rather and pretty short at 4/6 for him to score or assist.

The one area Lozano has been leading from the front is in trying to press and force the pace, resulting in him being pinged for a team-leading six fouls, and he'll come flying out of the traps again so 5/4 on him for two fouls here has to be included.

Hector Herrera has seen a card from his four fouls and as one of the men in the engine room then don't be surprised to see him also give away two fouls at Evens.