June 20, 2006
NICOLINO Di BENEDETTO, STATS Writer

Angola managed to earn its first-ever point in the World Cup in this, its first appearance in the tournament. Now Angola hopes to advance for the first time when it takes on eliminated Iran at Leipzig, Germany on Wednesday.

Angola played top-seeded Mexico to a scoreless tie in its second game in Group D on Friday. The surprising result put the 57th-ranked team in the world in third place in the group, one point ahead of Iran (23rd), three behind Mexico (fourth) and five behind Portugal (seventh). The top two teams advance to the knockout stage.

To be one of those squads, Angola must pick up its first World Cup victory, and get help from Portugal, the country of which Angola was a colony from 1575-1975.

Portugal needs to defeat Mexico in a game that will occur at the same time in Gelsenkirchen, and Angola must also make up the minus-1 goal differential to catch Mexico's plus-2, as that would be the first tiebreaker. If Angola and Mexico are equal in goal differential, then it reverts to goals scored before a random draw would be needed to determine the qualifying team for the round of 16.

Angola will be without defensive midfielder Andre as it attempts to earn an unlikely berth in the next round. He was issued a red card in Wednesday's draw, which will deprive Angola of a veteran of 35 international games who is key to breaking up the opposition's attack.

"I'm confident we can beat Iran, but we need to demonstrate that confidence on the pitch," Angola forward Mantorras said.

Angola has played sound defensively since allowing a fourth-minute goal in a 1-0 opening loss to Portugal on June 11.

"We are a group and every group needs some time to get to know each other, and that was the feeling I got in the beginning. I got the feeling things weren't so compact," Angola defender Rui Marques said.

The defense has been anchored by Joao Ricardo. The 36-year-old goalkeeper made 11 saves in the first two games against two of the top-scoring nations in the world, including eight against a Mexican team that led all regions with 67 World Cup qualifying goals in 18 games.

Angola also has veteran experience up front. Akwa, the all-time leader in games played (79) and goals (36) for Angola, is expected to start his third consecutive game as the lone forward in a 4-5-1 formation.

The formation may help Angola control possession against Iran after claiming only 46 percent against Mexico and 42 percent against Portugal, but it still needs to produce more scoring chances after only getting four shots on goal — second-lowest in the tournament to the United States' one.

"We couldn't make any real inroads in attack because we had to defend all the time," Angola midfielder Mateus said.

They may be able to do it against an Iran squad that has allowed five goals on 25 shots, including 14 on net in two games.

Iran is looking to win only its second World Cup game. It defeated the United States 2-1 in a politically charged game in 1998.

"We want to go out with a final victory," Iran manager Branko Ivankovic said. "We understand that Angola is still hoping to qualify for the next phase, but we are looking for a dignified exit from the tournament."

The Iranians lost 2-0 to Portugal on Saturday and coupled with a 3-1 loss to Mexico on June 11, are eliminated from contention.

"We're devastated at being knocked out, because we'd set our sights on making the last 16," Iran midfielder Mehdi Mahdavikia said. "We played well in the first half against Mexico, and we did the same again."

Ivankovic is expected to make only two changes to the team's lineup, inserting Ali Daei, the all-time leading scorer in international play with 109 goals, for Bayern Munich playmaker Ali Karimi. Daei, a 37-year-old forward, missed Saturday's loss due to a back injury.

Ivankovic also has to replace Javad Nekounam, who's suspended for yellow card accumulation.

Iranian media has questioned Ivankovic's insistence to play Karimi, who has been hampered by an ankle injury since March.

The Croatian coach has already announced that he will leave the team when his contract expires in July.