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De La Cruz targets shock victory

22 Jun 2006 - 12:19:49

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Ulises De La Cruz is confident Ecuador can produce a shock and knock England out of the World Cup.

The two teams meet in the round of 16 in Stuttgart on Sunday with Ecuador the underdogs after losing their final group game against Germany 3-0.

However, De La Cruz is able to point to the comfortable victories against Poland and Costa Rica as evidence of what his team-mates are capable of achieving.

"We will be no pushovers," insisted the Aston Villa defender.

"It will be very, very difficult against them because I know better than anyone the strength of their players.

"We would have preferred to play the Swedes, because maybe they are not quite as good as the English.

"But we proved in the group that we are capable of winning in the World Cup and I don't see any reason why we can't carry on with another shock against England.

"I don't see any reason why we cannot beat them. No one thought we had a chance of getting through, so why should it not continue?"