Can Mexico defy "Curse of 5th Game" against Brazil?

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Brazil will look to keep their bid for a record sixth World Cup crown on track when they face Mexico on Monday with a quarter-final place at stake.

Monday's other last-16 game sees a much-fancied Belgium take on a Japan side who are dreaming of reaching the quarters for the first time after scraping through their group thanks to their fair play record.

While Neymar's Brazil, and a Belgian outfit inspired by Eden Hazard and Romelu Lukaku, are both expected to advance, events of the weekend have shown that nothing can be taken for granted.

Brazil's players during a training session ahead of their Round of 16 match against Mexico at Samara Arena Stadium. /VCG Photo

Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, football's two great individuals of the last decade, have gone home, their hopes of ever winning the World Cup probably over. But Neymar is still dreaming of leading Brazil to glory, and his side take on Mexico in the Volga river port city of Samara.

Coach Tite insists his talisman is now approaching his best form again, four months after undergoing surgery on a fractured foot. "Now, he's returned to a very high level. He's played a lot... I told him, and he knows, about the price he's had to pay to get back to this level," said Tite.

Can Mexico break curse?

Brazil will be without left-back Marcelo due to a back problem, so Filipe Luis will take his place against a Mexico side not to be taken lightly. These teams drew 0-0 in the group stage of the last World Cup, and Mexico qualified for the last 16 here at the expense of Germany, beating the holders 1-0 in Moscow in their opening game.

Now, "El Tri" are bidding to end the "Curse of the Fifth Game" – they have never made it to the quarter-finals of a World Cup on foreign soil and have suffered six consecutive eliminations in the first knockout round, not managing to reach that fifth game. However, coach Juan Carlos Osorio said he was not concerned about past history.

"We don't talk about that to our players. We spoke about the possibility of coming up against Brazil a few months ago, and here we are," he said. The winner of that tie will go on to face the winner of Monday's other game, which sees Belgium meet Japan in Rostov-on-Don.

(With AFP input)