Confident Mexico fear no-one after Brazil upset

Mexico, who will face Germany [Images] or Argentina in the Confederations Cup semi-finals, believe they can win the competition after their upset 1-0 win over world champions Brazil [Images] on Sunday.

Jared Borgetti's second-half header was enough to separate the teams in a superb match played on a hot night in a northern German city that marched to the beat of a Latin American drum throughout a sweltering day.

In the end it was Mexico who triumphed and their supporters were singing loudest at a party that went on long into the night in one of Hanover's cobbled squares.

"We all feel tremendous joy," Mexico defender Carlos Salcido said. "It was a very important win for us and it is always special to beat the world champions in a big tournament.

"We knew it was going to be a tough match. We knew that we were facing great players, but our team ran and fought very hard and we managed to pass the ball very well."

Although they have not yet qualified for next year's World Cup, Mexico look certain to do so and if they continue their current form are likely to make a good impression in Germany.

Coach Ricardo La Volpe has guided them to a 19-match unbeaten run since losing to Brazil in the Copa America last July.

"They are fit and they are very experienced and played very well against us and made it very hard for us to do what we wanted to do," Brazil coach Carlos Alberto Parreira said. "The quality of Mexican football is very very impressive."

"We would like to have played better soccer but it was impossible against them," striker Adriano said.

"This defeat won't rattle us. We'll certainly do all we can against Japan [Images] to qualify, but Mexico impressed me."

Mexico have won this competition before, beating Brazil 4-3 in a classic final in Mexico City in 1999.

Their seventh win over Brazil in 33 matches means they can relax against already eliminated European champions Greece in their final Group B match Frankfurt on Wednesday.

© Copyright 2008 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.