Eriksson Not Surprised Over Marquez Ban

Sven-Goran Eriksson said the type of red card given to Marquez usually carries with it an additional ban; Mexico's manager also chimed in on Nery Castillo, Giovani Dos Santos and the goalkeeping situation.

Mar 19, 2009 12:55:39 AM

More On :  Mexico
Sven-Göran Eriksson- Mexico (Mexsport)
Two days before he will reveal his roster for Mexico's next two World Cup qualifiers, Sven Goran Eriksson touched on several issues surrounding El Tricolor.

Eriksson discussed players who won't be at Estadio Azteca for the match against Costa Rica, who might be there and who will be there but may or may not play. But he did not reveal too much ahead of Friday's announcement.
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Mexico captain Rafael Marquez was sent off in Mexico's opening match, a 2-0 loss to the United States, and was suspended for another game on top of his automatic one-match ban. Eriksson said he was expecting such a sanction.

"With regards to Rafa, it was just a matter of time," Eriksson said. "That type of red card is usually worth two games. I am not surprised."

Marquez won't be there, but Nery Castillo might. Castillo left the U.S. game with an injury and fears over his availabilty have been rampant. However, Eriksson said the Ukraine-based player may indeed be in condition to play.

"He is fine," Eriksson said. "If Shakhtar says he is fine, then he is fine. He will play on Sunday."

Giovani Dos Santos, meanwhile, opened his account with new club Ipswich Town. Dos Santos joined the second-division English side on loan within the last week and already scored for his new club, in a 2-1 victory on Tuesday.


"He has to play. With Tottenham, he was not playing," Eriksson said. "He has to play for our sake and most importantly for his own sake."

Two players who figure to be present are goalkeepers Guillermo Ochoa and Oswaldo Sanchez. The latter played against the United States and has been soundly criticized for his poor play, in particular for a late goal he allowed on a botched save attempt. The calls from the media and supporters for Ochoa to start have grown louder since then, but Eriksson wanted not part of that particular discussion.

"We will see who starts but I do not want to discuss that now," he said. "Oswaldo looked fine on the weekend but I don't want to talk about that. We will have a press conference on Friday."

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