Argentina looking for friendly against Scotland

December 4, 2001

GLASGOW, Dec 4 (AFP) -- World Cup favourites Argentina are seeking Scottish assistance in the build-up to their clash with England at Sapporo, Japan on June 7, press reports said Tuesday.

The South Americans see Scotland as playing in a style similar to England and want a friendly at Hampden Park, Glasgow to help with their preparations.

Argentina and England were also paired with Sweden and Nigeria in the group section of the tournament in South Korea and Japan next summer. On the prospects of a match against Scotland, Argentina Football Association spokesman Louis Castro said: "It is a strong possibility that we will try to play a game against Scotland because they play in a similar fashion to England."

The Scots won 1-0 the last time the two sides met back in 1990 at Glasgow.

England meanwhile have similar ideas with assistant coach Tord Grip saying that a friendly with South American side Paraguay would be ideal preparation for the Europeans.

"It is very good to play against teams that are similar to Argentina because it gives us more experience and a better understanding of the type of team that we are going to face next summer," Grip told www.the-fa.org.

"Of course, not every team has players like (Gabriel) Batistuta and (Juan Sebastian) Veron but it will be a good exercise."