Argentina focused on World Cup opener against Nigeria (28.05.2002)
Naraha,
The Argentine national team has been focusing on its World Cup opener against Nigeria, since the blue-and-white squad will need a victory against the perennial African power if it wants to win Group F, which is regarded as the competition`s toughest group.
England, one of Argentina`s most bitter soccer rivals, and Sweden round out Group F.
Midfielder Diego Simeone and teammates Jose Chamot and Juan Sebastian Veron told the press Monday that "the game against Nigeria is paramount" and "we will deal with the other games in the future." "We are focusing all our
attention on the debut game, without allowing ourselves a single distraction, because we know that a mistake can result in elimination from the World Cup," Chamot said.
"We are in the home stretch. We are going to spend the next week preparing for the first game against Nigeria," Veron said.
All three players agreed that Nigeria was Argentina`s most dangerous rival because the Africans were their squad`s first opponent in the World Cup.
Simeone, for his part, refused to answer any questions about his alleged personal rivalry with English forward David Beckham.
