DOHA (Reuters) - Poland's coach denied Mexico were favorites to win their opening World Cup Group C match on Tuesday, saying all teams in the tournament had an equal chance.

Poland, who are playing in the World Cup for the ninth time, have not gone beyond the group stage since 1986 and will face Mexico, Saudi Arabia and Argentina in an attempt to reach the knockout round in Qatar.

"If I say that there are no logical reasons for Poland not to pass the group stage, you will say that I am a man of little faith," Czeslaw Mikhniewic told reporters on Monday.

"I think we can cross this group... We don't want to be among the first 16 teams to go home.

“We have a group of experienced players who have participated in many tournaments, and there are a lot of youngsters who are making their way in a major tournament for the first time here in Qatar. I think that mix is right for us.”

In response to a question about whether Mexico is the favorite, given that the last time it failed to reach the knockout rounds was in 1978, Mikhnevich did not agree with this view."We don't look at Mexico that way. I don't see such differences between us, nor between us and Saudi Arabia or Argentina," he said."We are all in the World Cup. We appreciate the strength of the opponents in the group but we don't give them any special rank."Mexico, however, has a solid record in World Cup opening matches, winning five times and drawing once in their last six tournaments.The last time Poland won their opening World Cup match was nearly 50 years ago, when they beat Argentina 3-2 in 1974 and went on to finish third after beating Brazil 1-0.(Prepared by Ashraf Hamed for the Arabic Bulletin)