Mexico captain Andres Guardado has claimed that Brazil are the "perfect" opponents for his side to end their World Cup knockout-round curse against.
El Tri face the competition's most successful side in Samara on Monday, aiming to win a last-16 tie for the first time in their last seven attempts.
The 24-year hoodoo is something that Guardado is hopeful of ending in Russia, even if his side could have earned themselves a more favourable tie by avoiding defeat against Sweden in their final group outing to then face Switzerland.
"We're not going to have any excuse like this. If we get it, it's because we did things really well," he told reporters. "If we'd finished first in the group and with all respect to Switzerland, if we'd beaten Switzerland people would've said, 'Oh, it's because it's Switzerland.' That's how we are [in Mexico].
"So we're up against the perfect scenario against Brazil, the five-time champions and it's a great scenario. We're all really excited about this opportunity football has given us, a situation that can't get any better, and hopefully we're able to finally take this step."
Brazil and Mexico have met 40 times previously, with the Selecao winning 23 of those matches and losing seven.
Daniel Lewis
