La Volpe in confident mood
15 Jun 2006 - 14:02:59
Victory for Mexico against Angola in Hanover on Friday could see them secure their place in the second round of the tournament.
However, they will be without striker Jared Borgetti who has been ruled out of Mexico's two remaining group matches after injuring his hamstring in the 3-1 victory against Iran.
The Mexicans still hope the Bolton Wanderers forward will be fit for the knockout stages, if they reach the last 16. That now looks likely though in one of the weaker groups in Germany.
Coach Ricardo La Volpe is expected to move Omar Bravo, who scored two goals against Iran, from a midfield role to partner Guillermo Franco in attack.
La Volpe was pleased with his side's display against Iran, particularly after the break, saying: "If we carry on playing like we did in the second half against Iran I think we can do very well in this tournament."
Angola seemed content with a 1-0 defeat to Portugal in their opening group match but need to beat the Mexicans if they are to have any hope of progressing further in the competition.
Coach Luis Oliveira Goncalves is aware that his side is one of the weakest in Germany but is confident they can produce a major shock on Friday.
He said: "We are one of the most humble teams here but on the 16th I am going to ask the players to win and not only defend. We recognise Mexico are very strong but we will complicate things for them."
The five African sides all failed to win their opening group games but Angola hope the introduction of a psychologist will help them ahead of Friday's Group D clash.
Laurindo Vieira was brought in after Angola's poor performance in the African Nations Cup in January, and spokesman Arlindo Macedo thinks it has given the team a boost.
He said: "They always go on the field to win and they know we must beat Mexico if we want to go through to the knockout stage.
"If we draw we will have to try to do better against Iran but we should not reserve all the hard work for the last match."