Pierre Mercier (L) of Haiti vies for the ball with Bito Sendley ... AFP/Getty Images - June 15
SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (AP) -Costa Rica coach Rodrigo Kenton doesn't want his team to show any mercy against Haiti in a World Cup qualifier to be played in the storm-battered country.
The game was still scheduled for Wednesday in Port-au-Prince, even though much of Haiti was under water after Tropical Storm Hanna and Hurricane Ike caused flooding that has killed more than 330 people.
Kenton said he wasn't thinking about the natural disaster that has hit the hemisphere's poorest nation. He just wants another win so that Costa Rica can move a step closer to the World Cup.
"We can't get wrapped up in the fact that Haitians have problems in their country and will be weak,'' he said. "We are going there to play high-intensity soccer.''
He plans to use the same lineup that defeated Suriname 7-0 on Saturday.
If Costa Rica beats Haiti, it will continue to lead Group C in CONCACAF with a perfect record. The Central American nation already has two wins with its 1-0 defeat of El Salvador.
Costa Rica has drawn its last three games against Haiti, and Kenton said he wasn't expecting an easy game in Port-au-Prince.
"They have highly technical players who know how to play the ball, and because of that, we have to be careful,'' he said.
Source: Uk.EuroSport.Yahoo.Com - SportsIllustrated.Com
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