Fans of Mexico's World Cup team are cautiously optimistic

That hasn't dimmed the faith of Mexico's fans, though, in the team or in Guadalupe. Whether that faith will be rewarded this summer, however, is a subject of fierce debate.

On Sunday, Mexico's national team said goodbye to its faithful with a 1-0 win over a sloppy Chilean team in front of a raucous sellout crowd at Azteca. Alberto Medina's goal 14 minutes into the game was all Mexico needed for its third consecutive 1-0 win, running its unbeaten streak to 10 games dating to September.

The team leaves Tuesday for two weeks of training in Europe before heading to South Africa, where it opens play in the World Cup on June 11.

And it's going there with higher expectations than perhaps any Mexican team in recent memory. A public opinion poll published last weekend shows a slim majority of Mexicans believe the team will reach the tournament's quarterfinals, something it has done only twice. The team has promised at least that much.

"Do something distinct," Coach Javier Aguirre said. "That's the idea."

Not everyone thinks Aguirre has more than a prayer of making that happen.

The polls, says Raziel Sanchez, a hardcore but jaded Mexican soccer fan, reflect what people believe with their hearts but not with their brains.

"Is it not a question of faith to believe that Mexico can do better than it's ever done?" said Sanchez, a financial advisor. "Preparing the same way as they have for the last 20 years, it's very probable we're going to get the same results."

Two days before Mexico's farewell game, Sanchez and three like-minded friends met at a rooftop restaurant near Mexico City's trendy Zona Rosa district to talk about the national team's World Cup chances. They're hopeful, they agreed, but not optimistic. Supportive, but not irrational.

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