Mahdavikia hopeful of World Cup start

Iranian playmaker Mehdi Mahdavikia, seen hre at practice 06 June 2006, said he was hopeful of playing in his team's World Cup Group D opener against Mexico after accelerating his recovery from a back injury.

Iranian playmaker Mehdi Mahdavikia said he was hopeful of playing in his team's World Cup Group D opener against Mexico after accelerating his recovery from a back injury.

The FC Hamburg midfielder made a big step-up in his training, warming up with some solo shooting practice before taking part in a 15-minute practice game.

"I feel good now, I don't feel any pain. It's very important for me to start training without pain," he said after the public training session.

"Tomorrow I will start completely to improve the training process," he added, answering "Yes" when asked if he would be ready for Sunday's match in Nuremberg.

Mahdavikia, a veteran of Iran's memorable 1998 World Cup victory over arch-foe the United States, is one of four German-based players seen as key to Team Melli's hopes.

Bayern Munich star Ali Karimi was also given the green light by coach Branko Ivankovic after struggling with an injury since March.

However there was a question mark over Kaiserslautern midfielder Fereydoon Zandi, who could manage just a few laps of the pitch after coming down with a fever.

"We will have to see what's going on with his fever but of course he's also one of the important players for us," said Ivankovic.

Iran have their sights set on the second round after winning just one game in their two previous World Cup finals campaigns. They will also meet Portugal and Angola in Group D.

"We have a dream to play open, attractive football and also to get to the second stage," said Ivankovic, who coached Iran to the 2002 Asian Games title and the 2004 Asian Cup semis.