World Cup 2006 News

Argentina: good start, can do better

Jun 11, 2006, 14:32 GMT

Hamburg - Argentina captain Juan Pablo Sorin is under no illusions after their hard-earned 2-1 win over Ivory Coast in their opening World Cup match. 'The first game is the key one, it's so important to avoid defeat and we did well under a big physical challenge but we still have a lot of work to do,' he said. Serbia and Montenegro and then the Netherlands, who knocked out Argentina in the 1998 quarter-finals, are next in line. 'We have to improve and we can improve,' he said confidently. 'We showed a very good attitude and if we lacked some depth at times the team worked fine.' Saturday's scorers Javier Saviola and Hernan Crespo combined well and it is unclear where coach Jose Pekerman will play the hugely gifted Lionel Messi or Carlos Tevez when fully fit. Playmaker Juan Roman Riquelme mixed the sublime with the mundane. He set up both goals but sometimes his passing was too lateral. 'They gave us a hard time but we always knew this is the toughest group. But we are prepared for it,' Pekerman said. 'We have a great team spirit which will be key for us but we are realistic and must take things a game at a time.' © 2006 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur

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Argentina: good start, can do better

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