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BELGIUM coach George Leekens is to turn to Enzo Scifo for inspiration after finally burying the hatchet with the veteran midfielder earlier this year. Scifo is seen as the key to unlocking a Mexico side, which heads Group E after their opening 3-1 win over South Korea, when the two teams meet in Bordeaux today.
More importantly, Leekens is looking for a spark after the Belgians bored the football world rigid when they stifled the entertaining-life out of Holland in last Saturday's goalless draw.
The fact Scifo is involved at all, is due to a remarkable about-turn by both the player and coach following a major fall-out, with the 32-year-old having been sacked as skipper and bombed out of the squad. Scifo, Belgian-born but with Sicilian ancestry, vowed never to play under Leekens again after being dropped for a friendly with the United States.
But the duo eventually kissed-and-made-up and now Scifo, who was left out of the opening game against the Dutch, is set to grace his fourth World Cup by starting against the Mexicans, as Leekens seeks a more aggressive approach.
The coach said: ''Scifo has come along a lot both mentally and physically. He has really impressed me in training. I need someone creative in midfield who can deliver the killer final pass.'' Scifo now has the opportunity to become Belgium's leading scorer in World Cup history, with just one goal needed to take him past Jan Ceulemans, who played alongside him in 1986 and 1990.
Leekens has also recalled stopper Gordan Vidovic, who was unfit for the game against Holland, while Erik Deflandre retains his place after coming on as a 22nd minute substitute for Bertrand Crasson.
Mexico coach Manuel Lapuente, meanwhile, has to decide whether to play with three up front after his all-out attacking policy against South Korea worked to perfection. Trailing 1-0 at half-time to the ten-man Koreans, following goalscorer Ha Seok-Ju's sending-off, Lapuente threw on two more strikers at the break alongside Luis Hernandez and Cuauhtemoc Blanco.
It led to three second-half goals for the world ranked number four nation, who have been experimenting with Francisco Palencia in training this week as partner to two-goal Hernandez and Blanco.
But Lapuente fears that Belgium's defence will be a harder nut to crack and Luc Nilis has already revealed that the Belgian approach will be to �keep Mexico under pressure and give them no room to manoeuvre' . Mexican midfielder Braulio Luna confirms: "We'll play a different sort of game from the one we played against South Korea because Belgium are a more organised side and better prepared tactically.
The Mexicans aim to secure qualification in today's game, rather than have to rely on their last match in this phase against group favourites Holland. "We hope we can secure a good result again. We've already enjoyed one victory," defender Claudio Suarez said. "It was an important win but what's ahead is more important."
Probable Teams
Belgium: 1-Filip De Wilde; 22-Eric Deflandre, 3-Lorenzo Staelens, 4-Gordan Vidovic, 5-Vital Borkelmans; 6-Franky Van der Elst, 14-Enzo Scifo, 7-Marc Wilmots, 21-Danny Boffin; 8-Luis Oliveira, 10-Luc Nilis.
Mexico: 1-Jorge Campos, 2-Claudio Suarez Sanchez, 5-Duilio Davino, 13-Pavel Pardo, 7-Jesus Ramirez, 8-Alberto Garcia Aspe, 20-Jaime Ordiales, 14-Raul Lara, 19-Braulio Luna, 15-Luis Hernandez, 11-Cuauhtemoc Blanco.
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HEAD-TO-HEAD
Hernandez v Nilis
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 Mexico are in the driving seat in Group E having already beaten South Korea, but they face a sterner test against Belgium. And the game could well be decided by the battle up front between Luc Nilis and Luis Hernandez. The one who finds his striking boots first could settle matters in what will probably be a tight match.
| Luis Hernandez | Luc Nilis
| | Minutes On Pitch | 90 | 90
| | Goal Attempts | |
| | Goals | 2 | 0
| | Shots On Target | 2 | 0
| | Shots Off Target | 1 | 2
| | Blocked Shots | 3 | 0
| | Passing | |
| | Goal Assists | 0 | 0
| | Total Passes | 23 | 24
| | Pass Completion % | 87% | 71%
| | Crossing | |
| | Total Crosses | 2 | 0
| | Cross Completion % | 50% | 0
| | Dribbling | |
| | Dribbles & Runs | 1 | 2
| | Dribble Completion % | 100% | 50%
| | Defending | |
| | Tackles Made | 0 | 1
| | Tackles Won % | 0% | 0%
| | Blocks | 0 | 0
| | Clearances | 0 | 1
| | Interceptions | 0 | 1
| | Discipline | |
| | Fouls | 0 | 1
| | Offside | 2 | 1
| | Yellow Cards | 0 | 0
| | Red Cards | 0 | 0
| | Carling Opta Points Score | 1285 | 430 |
Belgium v Mexico: Trivia
They have met four times in the past, including once in the World Cup when Mexico won 2-1 in their own country in 1986.
Luis Hernndez's two goals against South Korea last week equaled the record for any Mexican player in all World Cup finals - i.e. none has every scored three in total.
Franky Van der Elst has joined the exclusive band of players who've taken part in four finals tournaments (1986-90-94-98). Enzo Scifo, who played in the last three finals, is also in the squad.
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News 8 
