"NOT CRUCIAL"

"We played a good game against a team that everyone thought was going to steamroll over us," said captain Marquez. "But we played even better than them and we did not deserve this. A great goal eliminated us."

Other Mexicans said the country should now concentrate more on electing a new president next weekend instead of sport.

"This soccer tournament has distracted the country from the more important task of choosing between the left, the right and the old Mexico next Sunday," said 66-year-old newspaper seller Marco Riquelme.

"Winning the World Cup is not crucial for the future of the country. Choosing who runs it is," said Riquelme.

Mexico's July 2 election is a very tight race, with leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador slightly ahead of right-wing rival Felipe Calderon in opinion polls.

In third place is Roberto Madrazo, of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, which ran Mexico for 71 years before current President Vicente Fox ousted the party in 2000.

Fox watched the game in his rural ranch and criticised Swiss referee Massimo Busacca for bias but said he was proud of the team. "Mexico dominated all the time, the defeat was circumstantial. Mexico was always ahead and deserved victory."

Calderon, a soccer fan and personal friend of World Cup striker Jose Fonseca, could have received a boost in the election if Mexico had beaten Argentina, especially as Lopez Obrador prefers baseball.