PersEternity

Iranian way in soccer! Aw, it was horrible the way Iranians played against Mexico. I cannot believe the last two goals by Mexicans yet. Ivankovic's players were doing perfectly good in the first half but they did very bad in the second half as they become satisfied with 1-1 result. Is it going to be the same in Iranian foreign policy and other important issues related to Iranians? I mean do the Iranians want to give up on everything in 2 minutes, just linke sunday and lose 3-1 to Mexico? Yeah?! I like soccer because there's no determination in it and no one is winner or loser up until the end of the match; and you've the opportunity to win over any opponent if you want to! I wish my ancestors' country wins in its next matches against Portugal and Angola... Viva Iran... I want to draw your attention to the following which is MEXICO-IRAN Coaches' Quotes:

Ricardo LA VOLPE (MEX)Despite the goal, we were tense and nervous in the first half. The opening game in the World Cup is never easy and the players know that. We started to play a bit after the break. We had to reorganise ourselves at half-time and make some necessary changes, and that helped us clinch the win. If we can play like we did in the second half, with a solid back-line and a balanced formation, we can go far in this tournament. Oswaldo Sanchez showed us that you have to take important decisions in life sometimes. He went to Mexico to his father's funeral, and spoke to his family in Guadalajara because he wanted to be with us, and there he was. I'm sure his father, wherever his is, gave him plenty of backing and support for this game and the others that are coming up.

I had no doubts about the team's ability to play with the same rhythm for 90 minutes and to keep going right to the end. I'd like to thank the presidents of the clubs in Mexico and their directors for releasing all the players and giving us plenty of time to prepare them for the tournament.

Branko IVANKOVIC (IRN)I'd like to congratulate Mexico for their win, for the way they played and because they capitalised on the opportunities we gave them.

Some of our players need a little more international experience, and that was evident today with the defensive errors that we made. When you make individual errors you pay dearly for them, but that’s something that can happen to any team. It's just part of the game. In the second half we went on the attack more. We controlled possession for long periods and stopped Mexico from creating chances.

Now we've got another hard task in front of us. We're not out of this, but we have to pick the players up mentally and get them ready for Portugal. They're a very experienced side, and experience is invariably what you need to win the World Cup.

**Picture: At their newspaper's office, two Iranian female journalists watch Iran's national soccer team match against Mexico during World Cup, in Tehran, Iran. Iran on Sunday lost 3-1 to Mexico in their soccer World Cup match, held in Nuremberg, Germany. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi) Copyright: AP