Agence France Presse
November 30

Today's game between Uzbekistan and Argentina in Sharjah sees sides at the two ends of the spectrum in this competition face off. The Albicelestes, reigning world champions and group leaders, will be looking to secure passage to the second-round; the Asians, new-comers to the tournament, will be hoping to get off the mark. FIFA.com spoke to Uzbek coach Viktor Borisov, who has warned his charges they cannot afford another slip-up if they are serious about progressing at UAE 2003.

"It's going to be a very tough match against Argentina. We're up against the defending champions, who have shown what they're made of by coming from behind to beat Spain," says the 61-year-old. "The hardest thing is going to be working on the mental side because it'll be difficult for my players to keep their nerve against such quality opposition. But we believe in ourselves," he says.

Few pundits expected Mali to have such trouble against Uzbekistan, who almost went away with a well-deserved point. "We played well considering it was our debut, which is always nerve-wracking. Unfortunately, the Africans took full advantage of every one of our mistakes, while we couldn't make the most of even half of theirs. And that was what made the difference," he rues.

A defeat at the hands of the Argentinians would almost certainly mean the Asians wave goodbye to the competition. Serious as ever, but always willing to face the challenge, the strategist is fully aware of the challenge ahead: "We can't afford the luxury of losing another game. This is our big chance to stay alive in the tournament."

It is often said in football that you cannot change a winning side, but what about a losing one? Will there be any new faces among the Uzbeks on Monday?: "That depends on my players' injury troubles. The initial idea at least is not to make any changes. I'm happy with how we performed against Mali, though we went missing a few times in defence. I insist, we have to work on my players' mental approach."

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