|
|
 |
 |   |
|
EVENTS Fantasy Central Inside Game Video Plus Statitudes Your Turn Message Boards Email Newsletters Golf Guide Cities 
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE
|  |
Focusing on Australia Suarez set for record as Mexico opens its cup defense
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- On the eve of becoming the most capped player in international soccer, Mexico captain Claudio Suarez shrugs off the achievement as nothing special. Suarez will lead Mexico when it opens its Confederations Cup defense Wednesday against Australia at Suwon Stadium, 50 kilometers (30 miles) outside the South Korean capital. "I feel calm," the veteran of 156 internationals for Mexico said after a team practice at Suwon late Tuesday. There's nothing more important about making international appearance No. 157 than there was about earning international cap No. 2, or so he claims. His only focus is a winning start for Mexico. Suarez is one game behind Egypt's Hossam Hassan as the most-capped player of all time. He should draw level with Hassan in the Australia vs. Mexico match and, all going well, he should surpass the record in Mexico's second game against South Korea on June 1. FIFA, soccer's world governing body, will mark the occasion by presenting Suarez with an armband that identifies him as the most capped active player. The 32-year-old defender says he plans to continue playing "as long as my body can stand it." His aim, apparently, is to keep building up international caps until the 2002 World Cup. The Mexicans clinched the 1999 Confederations Cup with a 4-3 win over hot-favorite Brazil in the final at Azteca Stadium, Mexico City, in front of 110,000 passionate fans. But the Mexicans face a different proposition in Suwon. Not only will they not have fanatical support from the fans, the match will be overshadowed by the tournament opener in Daegu between World No. 1 France and South Korea. Leading into the tournament, the Mexicans slumped to a 4-0 loss last week to England, but coach Enrique Meza is confident of a reversal against an under-strength Australian lineup. Meza has been keeping his lineup a closely guarded secret. The Aussie lineup will be missing its biggest stars for this eight nation tuneup for next year's World Cup, which is also being co-hosted by Korea and Japan. Harry Kewell and Mark Viduka, who usually combine up front for Leeds United in England's Premier League, and former Manchester United goalkeeper Mark Bosnich are all unavailable. The trio played big parts in Australia's run to the final of this event in 1997. Australia, which had just slumped out of the World Cup finals qualification on a 2-2 tie with Iran in Melbourne, stunned rivals in the Confederations Cup before losing 6-0 to Brazil in the '97 decider. Viduka was red carded in the final, leaving Australia with 10-men against a full-strength Brazilian team led by Rivaldo and Romario. It all conspired to blow out the scoreline. The Australians didn't qualify for Mexico in '99, losing the Oceania continental title to New Zealand, but coach Frank Farina said the current Socceroos can go as far as their predecessors in '97. Farina named a team late Tuesday that excluded Glasgow Celtic defender Craig Moore, Feyenoord Rotterdam midfielder Brett Emerton and 22-year-old striker Archie Thompson, who scored a world record 13 goals in Australia's 31-0 romp against American Samoa in a World Cup qualifier. He opted for a new strikeforce combination of David Zdrilic and Clayton Zane. "We have to have this depth in talent in the striking department and we have got that, with the likes of Harry Kewell, Mark Viduka, Paul Agostino, John Aloisi, David Zdrilic and now the younger ones coming through, and it's a good thing to have," Farina said. "The competitiveness there is healthy and I think it brings the best out of people, if you've only got two or three options, sometimes you can get complacent, so this situation is a good one to be in." Lineups: Mexico (possible): Oswaldo Sanchez, Claudio Suarez (captain), David Otea, Duilio Davino, Luis Perez, Marco Antonio Ruiz, Juan Pablo Rodriguez, Alberto Coyote, Victor Ruiz, Jose Manuel Abundis, Jared Borguetti. Australia: Mark Schwarzer, Tony Vidmar, Tony Popovic, Shaun Murphy, Kevin Muscat, Stan Lazaridis, Josip Skoko, Paul Okon (captain), Steve Corica, Clayton Zane, David Zdrilic.
| ||||||||||||||||||||
