MEXICO CITY, June 7 - Mexico's World Cup
qualifying position is not as bad as it looks, coach Javier
Aguirre argued on Sunday while maintaining they had been dealt a
raw deal by the fixture list.
Beaten 2-1 in El Salvador on Saturday in Aguirre's first
match back in charge after a previous stint as coach, Mexico
slumped to fifth of six in the final stage of the CONCACAF
qualifying competition with just three points from four games.
They need to finish in the top three to qualify directly for
South Africa while fourth place would earn a two-leg play off
against the fifth team from South America, currently Uruguay.
Aguirre, who hauled Mexico out of a similar predicament in a
previous stint in 2001-02, said his team, who have lost all
three away matches in the group, would play four of their final
six matches at home.
"It's difficult for anyone to win away from home," he was
quoted as saying on the Mexican Football Federation's Website
(www.femexfut.org.mx).
"The fixture list has given us three away games in our first
four matches while El Salvador have played three of their first
four at home.
"So the design of the fixture list and lack of wins at home
have put us in the hangman's noose.
"I'm convinced that we're going to be at the World Cup, but
the situation in the standings doesn't help. A statistic like
this is not nice to look at."
Mexico are still only two points adrift of third-placed El
Salvador and one behind Honduras.
"I can't reproach a single one of my players for lack of
effort," added Aguirre, whose predecessor Sven-Goran Eriksson
was sacked in April.
"There were individual errors and things to correct, but in
terms of spirit, running and fighting, I believe that the team
was up to the occasion."
"We're not even at the halfway mark, they have to come to us
and we have real chances of recovering. The table which matters
is not today's but the one on Oct. 14."
(Writing by Brian Homewood in Buenos Aires, editing by Dave
Thompson. To query or comment on this story email
sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)