HANOVER, Germany -- Argentina plays rival Brazil in the
Confederations Cup final. It so easily could have been Mexico
against Germany.
Argentina outlasted Mexico 6-5 on penalty kicks following a poor
performance in Sunday's semifinal that ended 1-1 after regulation
and overtime.
The Brazilians reached Wednesday's title game in Frankfurt by
beating host Germany 3-2 on Saturday. The World Cup champs also
were well below form and were lambasted by critics at home.
Mexico, having already beaten Brazil in a group game, led
Argentina with an overtime goal in Hanover. The Mexicans then
conceded a goal and had the only missed penalty kick during the
shootout.
"I agree it was not a great match, but my team fought very hard
especially in the second half and extra time," Argentina coach
Jose Pekerman. "It was not one of the best matches but we hope to
recover and the team has the ability to give a good match in the
final."
"This has been a very demanding competition, all the teams were
very strong and we faced a very tough Mexican team," he added.
"But later on we will look at the way the players performed."
While the first 13 games averaged more than three goals each,
this semifinal made its mark with the first two ejections --
Argentina's Javier Saviola in the 89th minute closely followed by
Mexico's Rafael Marquez.
During 120 minutes of poor play, Carlos Salcido scored in the
104th minute for Mexico and Luciano Figueroa scored in the 110th
for Argentina.
The outcome was settled when Mexican defender Ricardo Osorio was
the first to miss from the penalty spot at 5-5 and Esteban
Cambiasso of Argentina hit the target to send Mexico to its first
loss in 21 games.
A year before Germany hosts the 32-nation World Cup, South
America already has scored a psychological victory no matter who
wins Wednesday.
The eight-nation Confederations Cup brought together the
champions from FIFA's global regions and the two South American
greats rose to the top. European champion Greece couldn't score a
goal, Australia lost three times and conceded 10 goals and Japan
and Tunisia won just one game each.
Germany, coached by Juergen Klinsmann, displayed an attacking
offense. It twice answered after conceding goals and played better
soccer than Brazil before losing after Adriano's late strike.
Mexico's victories over Japan and Brazil were tarnished by the
team's decision to send home two players amid rumors of a doping
scandal.
Mexican soccer officials acknowledged that defenders Salvador
Carmona and Aaron Galindo had tested positive for a banned
substance before the Confederations Cup. They were tossed off the
team for what coach Ricardo Lavolpe called "disciplinary
reasons," and the world governing body said there will be an
investigation.