ANDREW KEH

It is a hard thing to have your voices heard over tens of thousands of people who are screaming at the same time, hoping to drown you out, but that did not stop the fans of Mexico here Tuesday from trying and trying and trying.

Dressed in red and green shirts, they formed a few watermelon-color splotches around the capacity crowd of Brazilian fans in yellow and chanted tirelessly toward the field for two hours. When the final whistle blew, their voices were the loudest ones heard in Estádio Castelão, and their varied songs were whittled down to one: the name of their goalkeeper, Guillermo Ochoa — or as they endearingly call him, Memo.

Facing one of the premier attacking lineups on the planet, Ochoa made several spectacular saves to lead Mexico to a 0-0 draw against Brazil. It was one of the most striking performances in this still-young tournament, and it allowed the Mexico fans to leave the muggy stadium feeling as if they had won.

“I never dreamt of playing a game like this,” said Ochoa, who called it the most important performance of his career. “There are nights when you get out there and the ball seems to hit you even if you close your eyes. There are games like that.”

Miguel Herrera, Mexico’s coach, waited until the very last moments before the tournament to name his starting goalkeeper, ultimately picking Ochoa over José de Jesús Corona. It was a huge moment for Ochoa, who was named to the team’s World Cup rosters in 2006 and 2010 but did not play either time.

Herrera said Ochoa’s calm demeanor gave him the edge over his competitors.

“We haven’t been mistaken,” Herrera said about the decision. “It seems Memo has lived up to it with his attitude. He is enjoying the World Cup, after being at World Cups on the bench.”

Left, right and centre

Ochoa made saves on four surefire goal chances, two on either side of halftime. In the 69th minute, the Brazilian star Neymar lashed a sideways, left-footed volley toward the goal that Ochoa saved with the upper part of his left thigh.

In the 86th minute, the Brazilian defender Thiago Silva charged into the penalty box, rose up above the crowd to meet a cross and drilled a header toward the goal. But Ochoa slid over to whack the ball away with both hands. It was his sixth save, and his teammates ran over to embrace him.

“They have a very good goalkeeper who had a very good day,” said Luis Felipe Scolari, Brazil’s coach. “That is why we could not win.”

During some tense and physical opening minutes, Mexico seemed to be fighting some nerves as it chased Brazil around the field. It was struggling to win possession, and when it did, it made wayward passes and clumsy touches, giving it right back.

After a quarter of an hour, the teams settled a bit and traded legitimate chances. In the 24th minute, Héctor Herrera directed a laser beam toward the Brazilian goal, forcing Júlio César to make a fingertip save over the bar. Mexico would take 12 more shots, but at least half of them flew over the crossbar.

Then Ochoa was put to work. Shortly after Herrera’s chance, Neymar drilled a header toward the far post that required a full-stretch dive from Ochoa, who parried it away with his right hand just before it crossed the goal line. It was most likely his toughest save of the game. Ochoa came up big again a minute before halftime, stuffing Paulinho’s shot from close range after he got free with the ball in front of the goal.