RICARDO LA VOLPE, THE Mexico coach, refrained from his usual habit of smoking on the sidelines after a polite request from Fifa, but he may light up again in their next match after Angola succeeded in dousing his side’s fire.
Having overwhelmed Iran in their previous match, Mexico were frustrated despite the 79th-minute dismissal of Andre, the Angola midfield player, meaning that they must take a point from their final group game against Portugal to be sure of their place in the second round.
Mexico were utterly dominant in terms of possession and territorial advantage, but a combination of poor finishing and resolute defending gave Angola their first draw in the World Cup. On the final whistle, the few thousand Angolans celebrated as if they had won the tournament.
“This is a party for Angola,” Luis de Oliveira Gonçalves, said. “We’ve won our first point in the World Cup, so this is the best result in the history of Angolan football. We must believe we can qualify and have some ambition.”
Having arrived at 9am on Thursday loaded down with crates of Sol beer, Mexico’s supporters came prepared for a carnival, but were denied by the most unlikely of party poopers. João Ricardo, the Angola goalkeeper, has been unemployed since being released 12 months ago by Moreirense, of the Portuguese second division, but overcame a nervous start to be named man of the match.
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“Our country has been going through difficult times so this award is for the whole country,” João Ricardo said. “The third game (against Iran) is very important and we can still qualify.”
Mexico should really have extinguished such hopes, but were let down by sloppy finishing, particularly by Guillermo Franco, the Villarreal striker, whose profligacy enabled Arsenal to progress to the Champions League final. The worst of many misses came on the stroke of half-time, when he shot straight at João Ricardo from close range.
Emboldened by this let-off, Angola showed more adventure in the second half without looking like breaking the deadlock. The Black Impalas’ only hope appeared to be the long-range efforts of Mendonça, their muscular winger.
Mexico were more inventive, but also lacking in front of goal. Franco’s second weak shot failed to beat João Ricardo and Omar Bravo’s effort was straight at him, but the eccentric goalkeeper made one more notable contribution, tipping Rafael Márquez’s 25-yard drive around the post.
“There was only one team in the match and that was Mexico, but the ball did not want to go into the net,” La Volpe said. After this result, he will need all the stimulants he can get his hands on.
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MEXICO 0 ANGOLA 0
REFEREE: S Maidin (Singapore) 2
ATTENDANCE: 43,000
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MEXICO: Sánchez 6, Márquez 6, Osorio 5, Salcido 6, Mendez 5, Zinha 6, Pardo 6, Torrado 5, Pineda 5, Franco 4, Bravo 6
Subs: Arellano 5 (for Zinha, 52min); Fonseca (for Franco, 74); Morales (for Pineda, 78). Not used: Corona, Ochoa, Castro, Guardado, Rodríguez, Suárez, García, Torrado. NEXT: Portugal
ANGOLA: João Ricardo 6, Delgado 6, Kali 6, Jamba 5, Loco 5, Akwa 5, Mendonça 6, Mateus 5, Zé Kalanga 6, Figueiredo 6 Andre 5
Subs: Mantorras 5 (for Mateus, 68); Rui Marques (for Figueiredo, 73); Miloy (for Zé Kalanga, 83). Not used: Lama, Mario, Lebo Lebo, Abreu, Airosa, Edson, Titi Buengo, Flavio, Love. NEXT: Iran