Mexico midfielder Pavel Pardo and Angola's Mendonca fight for the ball during the second half of Friday's scoreless tie. Pardo put it best: "If you don't score, you don't win."

FABIAN BIMMER / the associated press

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HANOVER, Germany — Mexico's fans kept up the deafening chant: "Si, se puede! Si, se puede!"

"Yes, we can! Yes, we can!"

No, they couldn't.

Mexico moved the ball about the field almost at will in Friday night's World Cup match against Angola. The only thing El Tri didn't do was put the ball in the net, settling for a 0-0 draw that turned the chants and cheers into derisive whistles.

"We played very good in back," midfielder Pavel Pardo said. "We played very good in the midfield. But the most important thing is, you need to score. If you don't score, you don't win."

A victory over Angola, combined with a win or draw by Portugal against Iran on Wednesday, would have guaranteed Mexico its fourth straight trip to the round of 16. Instead, everything now comes down to Wednesday's Group D finals: Mexico against Portugal and Iran against Angola.

Mexico also failed to earn its first World Cup win against an African team and its first 2-0 start in a World Cup played in Europe.

"That's football," midfielder Gerardo Torrado said. "The luck just didn't go our way tonight."

It was the third scoreless draw of the tournament. There were only two in the group stage in 2002 and three in 1998.

Mexico went into Friday night's game without striker Jared Borgetti, with El Tri's top career scorer sidelined by a torn muscle in his left thigh.

Coach Ricardo Lavolpe used all four of his other forwards — sometimes three at a time — and none came close to matching his form from Mexico's 3-1 win over Iran in its opener.

The four strikers — Guillermo Franco, Omar Bravo, Francisco Fonseca and Jesus Arellano — all were no-shows at the postmatch interview session. Each had chances to score against the Black Antelopes, but something always went wrong.

Bravo, who had two goals against Iran, never found his rhythm on Friday night. Franco had several good touches but was denied by Angolan keeper Joao Ricardo, who started shakily but got stronger as the night went on.

Fonseca and Arellano, both second-half substitutes, also failed to provide a scoring spark — even after defender Andre's ejection for a handball in the 79th minute gave Mexico a man advantage.

And defender Rafael Marquez, often roaming deep into Angola's end, missed a two-goal night by inches. His free kick in the first half glanced off Angola's defensive wall and hit the post, and Joao Ricardo made a dive to his right to knock away his 88th-minute blast from 35 meters out.

● Argentina 6, Serbia-Montenegro 0: In Gelsenkirchen, Germany, two-time champion Argentina is starting to sense something special.

Jubilant cries of "Ole, Ole" and "AR-gen-tina, AR-gen-tina" were deafening Friday in Gelsenkirchen's closed-roof stadium, where Argentina routed Serbia-Montenegro — the most lopsided game so far in the World Cup.

The loss eliminated Serbia.

● Netherlands 2, Ivory Coast 1: In, Stuttgart, Germany, power and flair helped Ruud van Nistelrooy and Robin van Persie show why the Netherlands belongs in the second round of the World Cup.

Van Nistelrooy and Van Persie scored a goal each in a win over Ivory Coast, enough to make sure the Dutch advance, along with Argentina, from a tough Group C.

Ivory Coast was eliminated despite a second classy match in its first World Cup.