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Blanco gets another chance in Mexico squad
Volatile Mexican striker Cuauhtemoc Blanco has been handed an opportunity to end a 20-month international exile after he was named in the squad for three World Cup qualifiers in October. Blanco earned his place in the squad named on Thursday after inspiring his new club Veracruz to seven successive wins in the Mexican championship - an unprecedented run for the normally unfashionable outfit. He appeared in Mexico's first two games under coach Ricardo La Volpe in February last year but has not played for them since. He missed several games as La Volpe experimented with new faces before being included in the squad for a friendly with Costa Rica in March, only to pull out through injury. He also pulled out of a trip to Dallas to face the United States in a friendly in April and then withdrew from the World Cup qualifiers against Dominica in August. On that occasion, Blanco said he was depressed after being handed a one-year ban from matches organised by the South American Football Confederation following his part in a brawl at the end of a Libertadores Cup tie with America. The ban kept him out of the Copa America in July, where Mexico reached the quarter-finals. Mexico host St Vincent and the Grenadines in Pachuca on October 6 in a match which was originally postponed because Hurricane Frances prevented the Caribbean islanders from making their journey. They continue their campaign in Group C of the CONCACAF qualifying tournament's second stage by visiting St Vincent four days later, then host Trinidad and Tobago in Puebla on October 13. La Volpe also included Brazilian-born midfielder Antonio Naelson in the squad, a move that is likely to further fuel the controversy in Mexico concerning naturalised players being picked for the national side. Mexico beat Trinidad 3-1 in Port of Spain earlier this month in their only outing so far. Squad Defenders: Francisco Rodriguez (Guadalajara-Chivas), Rafael Marquez (Barcelona, Spain), Hugo Sanchez Guerrero (UNL-Tigres), Carlos Salcido (Guadalajara-Chivas), Gonzalo Pineda (UNAM-Pumas), Ricardo Osorio (Cruz Azul-Cementeros), Mario Mendez (Toluca-Diablos) Midfielders: Jaime Lozano (UNAM-Pumas), Pavel Pardo (America-Aguilas), Rafael Garcia (Cruz Azul-Cementeros), Luis Perez (Monterrey-Rayados), Antonio Naelson (Toluca-Diablos), Israel Lopez (Toluca-Diablos) Forwards: Jesus Arellano (Monterrey-Rayados), Jared Borgetti (Sinaloa-Dorados), Daniel Osorno (Atlas-Zorros), Sergio Santana (Pachuca-Tuzos), Cuauhtemoc Blanco (Veracruz-Tiburones) 0010 011004 GMT 2004-10-01 08:10:25 2004-10-01 08:12:07 2993 NNNN |
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