Tabarez: Fix-up talk a load of nonsense
RUSTENBURG - Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez robustly denied the suggestion his side and Mexico would manufacture a draw to ensure both Latin American teams make the last 16 of the World Cup.
"It's a creation of suspicions and a lack of respect for all those that are taking part in the game and the coaching staff," Tabarez told a news conference on Monday ahead of the top-of-the-table Group A clash.
"There is nothing premeditated," he added, his usually calm voice taking a firmer tone.
Both teams have an incentive to win, as the victors are likely to avoid a potential clash with in-form neighbours Argentina but Tabarez said that would not be their only motivation.
"We want to come top but not so we avoid Argentina. What happens if they lose and we win and then we end up facing each other?" he said.
The two Latin American teams have four points, three clear of South Africa and the imploding former winners France, meaning a point for each side would suffice, but Tabarez said he it had been been a tournament of upsets where nothing was certain.
"So far we've seen in many games that the predictions are blown out of the water," he said.
Uruguay only have three wins from 17 games with Mexico, and despite his side's good form in the 3-0 win over South Africa, Tabarez is expecting a hard match from opposing number Javier Aguirre's team.
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"When he played for Mexico he had a very rare tactical ability, he was an excellent tactical player," Tabarez said of the former Mexico international.