Mexico Eye Second Round Spot But Need Angola Win First
June 16, 2006
FIFA's fourth-ranked team are in the box seat in Group D after subduing Iran 3-1, placing them above Euro 2004 finalists Portugal. But they may have their work cut out against the Black Antelopes, who won plaudits for a battling 1-0 defeat to Portugal on their World Cup debut.
"The game was more competitive than expected," said Portugal coach Luis Felipe Scolari. "At one stage they were better than us in midfield but if you look at the best goal chances they were all ours."
Mexico will be without Bolton striker Jared Borgetti, who limped off in the second half against Iran and may not reappear in the group stage.
But they are not without attacking options, a point rammed home by Omar Bravo's match-winning double and Brazilian-born Zinha's scintillating second-half cameo, in which he set up one goal and scored another.
They will also take heart from the tactical wiles of coach Ricardo Lavolpe, whose double-substitution at half-time turned the game against Iran.
"A humble team"
Angola's very appearance at the World Cup is a near-miracle for a country which only recently emerged from three decades of civil war. But Angola showed their World Cup credentials with a spirited display which largely frustrated their former colonial masters.
"My players played with pride but we are a humble team," said coach Luis Oliveira Goncalves. "Our aim is to complicate the life of the major footballing powers here."
The performance also went down well at home, with Angola's sole newspaper hailing the team's "fighting spirit."
"A great show," said the Jornal de Angola, adding that Portugal would "never forget this night of fear."
The Black Antelopes will again rely on two players without clubs -- captain and top striker Akwa and goalkeeper Joao Ricardo -- as they vie to overcome massive odds to reach the last 16.
Rated a 500-1 shot for the World Cup and ranked more than 50 places below Mexico, they will take heart from Iran's first half when an attacking endeavor knocked the South Americans off their stride.
"I recognize the Mexicans are strong but we'll be trying to counterbalance a tough adversary," Goncalves said.
He may also hope for a cigarette ban on the chain-smoking Lavolpe, who incurred FIFA's wrath for lighting up during the Iran game.