World Cup: Carlos Vela OKd for Mexico’s next match

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Carlos Vela has recovered from injury and will be available for Mexico’s second-round match with Argentina on Sunday, a team spokesman said Wednesday.

Vela went out in the first half against France last week after being struck in the right leg and missed the 1-0 loss to Uruguay on Tuesday, a result that secured Mexico’s place in the knockout round.

Vela’s place in the lineup in the match against Uruguay was taken by Cuauhtemoc Blanco.

Sunday’s match will be a repeat of a second-round game in the 2006 World Cup; that time, the South Americans won 2-1 in extra time. But Mexico midfielder Israel Castro was adamant that Argentina did not have the upper hand over its Latin American rivals.

Neither was he worried about how they might deal with Argentina’s dazzling Lionel Messi.

‘Man for man, I don’t think Argentina has an advantage,’ he told Reuters. ‘I see a united team, but we’re not thinking about any one player.’

-- Kevin Baxter in Pretoria, South Africa