Argentina aim to advance

June 11, 2002

Argentina's Pablo Aimar says his team will beat Sweden and reach the second round of the World Cup.

And he then hopes for another chance to get revenge over England in the semi-finals.

The Argentines, beaten 1-0 by England on Friday, are currently third in Group F with three points from two games.

Opponents Sweden have four points from their two matches - as do England.

But Aimar is confident Argentina will win in Miyagi and further their participation in the tournament.

"We're optimistic we'll be there," said Aimar when asked whether Argentina would qualify from their group.

"We will win the match with Sweden and we will get to the second round. We can turn around this tough situation."

"Argentina has responded in difficult times before and we hope this time won't be any different.

"Playing well is the short route to winning - playing for the national side is a dream every time you pull the shirt on - but we will have to change a few things from the England match.

"I hope we can meet them again in the semis.

"We can't always have a bad day - and Wednesday will be a good one."

The Argentine media report that coach Marcelo Bielsa has already made his mind up to bring Aimar into the starting line-up, but it is not clear who he will be relegated to accommodate him.

Bielsa did nothing to clarify the situation on Monday when, in afternoon practice, he made several changes to the team that started against England.

Defender Jose Chamot replaced Diego Placente, Matias Almeyda took Diego Simeone's place in midfield and Claudio Lopez replaced Juan Pablo Sorin on the left.

Perhaps most significantly, captain Juan Sebastian Veron was replaced by Aimar.

Sports daily Ole says that does not mean the Manchester United player will be left out of the team to start on Thursday, and he may be moved to a more defensive role.

El Clarin speculates that it will be Ariel Ortega who misses out.

BBC Sport Online