Mexico looks to do better than Confederations Cup
11/6/2006 10:52
Mexico will look to do better than their fourth place finish at last
year's Confederations Cup as they open their World Cup campaign against Group D
rival Iran in Nuremberg's Frankenstadion on Sunday.
The match could well
prove vital to both sides' qualification for the knockout stage from the
group.
Mexico coach Ricardo La Volpe has chosen an mixture of youth and
experience, believing that most of the players at last year's Confederations Cup
will again shine during the tournament.
New sensation Andres Guardado and
Villarreal forward Guillermo Franco have added strength in depth to an already
potent squad.
Iran coach Branco Ivankovic headed to Germany with the majority
of players who served him so well in qualifying. The supremely skilled Ali
Karimi, veteran striker Ali Daei and midfielder Mehdi Mahdavikia are the leading
lights in what many regard as Iran's finest team ever.
Midfielder Mojtaba
Jabari is the only major absentee after suffering an injury.
Mexico sealed
their place in Germany by finishing second in the final round of CONCACAF
qualifying. El Tri were the competition's highest scoring team in the
preliminary rounds.
Iran booked their ticket to their third World Cup by
finishing second in Group B of the Asian Zone behind Japan.
Mexico and Iran
have played each other just once, in a friendly game on 9 June 2001 which the
Mexicans won 2-1.
Mexico have appeared in World Cup finals for 13 times. Both
of their best performances came on home soil, with quarter-final finishes at
Mexico 1970 and Mexico 1986.
Germany 2006 is only Iran's third World Cup.
They made their finals debut at Argentina in 1978, before getting their second
chance at France in 1998, where they achieved their first victory, a 2-1 win
over the United States.
Rafael Marquez versus Ali Karimi should be worth
watching. Marquez, Mexico's captain and undisputed star, is likely to be given
the task of stopping the elusive Karimi.
La Volpe, who took over as head
coach four years ago, guided Mexico to Germany with the minimum of fuss and
presided over his side's excellent FIFA Confederations Cup displays.
Iran's
Ivankovic, meanwhile, initially worked as assistant coach to Miroslav Blazevic,
taking over from his former boss following Iran's failed qualifying campaign for
South Korea/Japan 2002.
The Iranian Football Association's faith has been
repaid, with the Croatian building the finest team in the country's footballing
history.
Xinhua
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