The 23-year-old was at the center of the action in Mexico’s 2-0 win over Brazil Sunday. He opened the scoring with an awe-inspiring chip from a tight angle. He then won the penalty that lead to his team’s second goal.
Over 84,000 spectators attended the high-profile friendly at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Tex. Most of them, fans of dos Santos and Mexio, left with smiles on their faces.
Dos Santos received a pass on the left side of the area in the 22nd minute. The crowd began to buzz as he dribbled toward a defender. But instead of passing to a teammate as most would do in that situation, he floated a left-footed shot (or was it a cross?) that beat the outstretched hands of goalkeeper Rafael Cabral and tucked nicely into the side netting.
Brazil manager Mano Menezes thinks dos Santos simply got lucky, according to the Mail.
“Giovani was crossing it into the box and scored,” he said.
Ten minutes later, dos Santos was taken down in the area by defender Juan Jesus. Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez stepped up and buried the ensuing penalty kick. Like his fellow countryman, the Manchester United striker is rounding into form as the start of qualifying for the 2014 FIFA World Cup approaches.
Dos Santos spent most of the season stuck on the bench at Tottenham Hotspur. He made seven Premier League appearances in 2011-12, playing a grand total of 58 minutes. When manager Harry Redknapp did play the young Mexican (mostly in cup or UEFA Europa League games) he only showed flashes of the talent that spurred the club to spend £4.7 million ($7.4 million) to buy him from FC Barcelona back in 2008.
If he plays well for Mexico this summer, as he always seems to do, it’s likely that another European club will swoop in and save him from his North London misery.
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Thumbnail photo via Flickr/prismatico
