Soccer

2006 WORLD CUP
GROUP D

By Jim Allen
Outsports.com

SUMMARY

There's an interesting contrast in this group.  On the one hand, you have two teams, Portugal and Mexico, that have bundles of talent but seem to never perform up to expectations in big tournaments.  On the other, you have two teams, Angola and Iran, that are rather unknown quantities on the international scene.  Look for Portugal to get through, and in a bit of a surprise, Angola to make the Round of 16 as well; Mexico just doesn't seem to have the right ingredients this time around.  If nothing else, the colonial history of Portugal and Angola should make for a lot of chatter surrounding their group match on June 11.

ANGOLA

Hot Player: Kali FIFA Ranking: 57 Manager (nationality): Luis Oliveira Goncalves (Angola) Key Players: Mantorras, Akwa (forwards); Figueirido, Ze Kalanga (midfielders); Marcos Airoso, Kali (defenders); Joao Ricardo (goalkeeper) Overview: One of five teams from Africa in the competition, Angola is traveling to their first World Cup; they've only been trying to qualify since 1984 (for the World Cup in Mexico).  As such, they're a bit of an unknown quantity in this group, but many of the players ply their trade in leagues in Europe and Asia, so there's some excellent players to be found, such as talismanic forward Akwa, young starlet Mantorras and a group of fine young players.  Coach Luis Oliveira Goncalves led Angola's U-20 squad to the African U-20 championship in 2001, so there's some promise to be found.  Unfortunately, Angola is in a fairly tough group, with Mexico and Portugal expected to move on to the Round of 16.  Goncalves promises a tight, well-disciplined team, so Angola could spring some surprises.  Considering that Portugal were colonial overseers of the area that is now called Angola from 1483 until independence in 1975, that match should be pretty interesting to watch.

IRAN

Hot Player: Hossein Kaabi FIFA Ranking: 23 Manager (nationality): Branko Ivankovic (Croatia) Key Players: Vahid Hashemian, Ali Daei (forwards); Moharram Navidkia, Andranik Taymoorian (midfielders); Sohrab Bakhtiarizadeh, Yahya Golmohammadi (defenders); Ebrahim Mirzapour (goalkeeper) Overview: I've read a bunch of reports about Iran on various sites and the general consensus is "Don't know much about them, but they're weak anyway".  OK then!  Iran promises to play an attacking formation, probably figuring that they can't survive in purely defensive battles.  Their match against Mexico will be the key to advancing out of the group stages, as it seems that as little as 3 points could be enough to get the second slot in this group.  The attack will be lead by national hero Ali Daei and Ali Karimi will be expected to provide the flair and creativity.  One slight advantage that the Iranians will have is that a good number of their players ply their trade in the German Bundesliga, so they should feel comfortable in their surroundings.  Truth be told, Iran is one of the weakest teams in the tournament and any points they get will be considered a victory of sorts. Also expect a lot of politically tainted rubbish to written about them by the American and European press.

MEXICO

Hot Player: Jose Fonseca FIFA Ranking: 4 Manager (nationality): Ricardo La Volpe (Argentina) Key Players: Guillermo Franco, Jared Borgetti (forwards); Pavel Pardo, Gerardo Torrado (midfielders); Carlos Salcido, Claudio Suarez (defenders); Oswaldo Sanchez (goalkeeper) Overview: What a frustrating team the El Tri must be to support! They regularly beat up on the weaker CONCACAF teams, have a good record against their northern Yanqi neighbors and even make some noise in the myriad cup competitions in Central and South America.  However, they've only reached the World Cup quarterfinal stage twice, in 1970 and 1986, the latter being on home turf.  Their flameout against the United States in the 2002 World Cup was disgraceful, as they were outplayed and when all was lost near the end of the match, took to kicking the snot out of the Americans.  There's not the high hopes going in to this tournament that there was in 2002 as this is a team in transition.  There's a bunch of young players just getting their ears wet in international football and the usual firestorms of controversy about this or that emanating from the Mexico training camp. If nothing else, the Mexican team will be entertaining, both on and off the pitch.

PORTUGAL

Hot Player: Cristiano Ronaldo FA Ranking: 7 Manager (nationality): Luiz Felipe Scolari (Brazil) Key Players: Pauleta, Cristiano Ronaldo (forwards); Deco, Luis Figo (midfielders); Paulo Ferreria, Nuno Valente (defenders); Ricardo (goalkeeper) Overview: There's few teams in this tournament with more pressure on them than Portugal.  A team of talented youngsters, wily veterans and an attractive, attacking style, they'll be out to erase the disaster that was Korea/Japan in 2002.  They finished bottom of their group, losing to dull, defense oriented teams South Korea and the United States.  A bit of good news was reaching the final of Euro 2004, where they lost to a -- wait for it -- dull, defense oriented Greece.  This will be icon Luis Figo's last World Cup and Portugal are counting on him to provide that last bit of class in attack to provide chances.  The defense is sturdy, allowing the creative midfield a chance to push a little further up the field.  A lot will be depend on Pauleta keeping up his play from the qualifying stages, where he was the top scorer in the European qualifiers with 11 goals.  As the history outlined above indicates, perhaps Portugal lacks the patience to break down defenses, leaving them vulnerable on the counter attack.  Expect a lot of fast-paced, stylish football from this exciting team.