Gonzalo Higuaín finally found his scoring boots

Despite the win, Argentina undoubtedly had a frustrating start to the World Cup against Nigeria. Argentina went into this game looking to prove their right to be called one of the favourites.

Argentina went for a 4-3-3 formation again, but with perhaps a slightly more attacking slant, replacing Juan Sebastian Verón for Maxi Rodriguez.

South Korea, on the other hand, went defensive. They packed their defence right from the start, and it looked like Huh Jung-Moo’s side were to make damage limitation their number one priority.

Possession was solely in the hands of Argentina in the first part of the match. In fact it took no less than nine minutes for the South Koreans to have the ball in their possession while in the Argentina half. They improved shortly after, starting to pressure  Argentina down their right side – where left-back Gutierrez was once again playing out of position.

South Korea even opened the scoring on 16 minutes – too bad it was in Argentina’s favour. Messi’s well-delivered free kick deflected off the shin of Park Chu Young.

Argentina found the net for themselves after 32 minutes, when Gonzalo Higuaín, who was left wanting in the previous game against Nigeria, headed in from a Maxi cross and subsequent Burdisso flick-on.

From this point, South Korea lacked any sort of cohesion up front; but at the other end of the pitch, goalkeeper Jung Sung-Ryong made a fantastic save. A rebound landed squarely at the feet of Argentinian midfielder Di Maria, but Jung did well to propel himself into the air and get a hand onto Di Maria’s top corner rocket.

Argentina’s work rate was remarkable, with the effort being led by none other than Carlos Tevez, of course. The South Korean defence looked scared of Man City striker, but absolutely terrified of the World Cup’s most hyped player Lionel Messi. Surprisingly, Messi wasn’t being man-marked for a large part of the game, and was allowed space to twist, turn and get a few shots in himself.

Goalkeeper Jung Sung-Ryong can only watch as an own goal off the shin of Park Chu-Young slips past him

Then, out of nowhere, a schoolboy error from Argentina full-back Demichellis puts the Koreans back in the game. He hesitates on a pass from goalkeeper Romero, allowing Lee Chung-Yong to steal the ball and cooly slip it past the keeper before the half time break.

The Koreans went into the second half believing they could cause an upset. Both teams looked fluid going forward, but South Korea had the first good attempt on goal following the restart, when Lee Young-Chung broke away to lay the ball into the path of Yeom Ki-Hyun. It was a near miss, however, as Yeom slapped the ball into the side netting.

Despite this second wind from South Korea, they could not stop Argentina extending the lead, when a Messi rebound fell to Higuaín for a simple tap in. That’s two for Higuaín and three for Argentina.

Higuaín didn’t need much longer to complete his hat-trick – three minutes, in fact. Kún Aguëro had come on a substitute for Tevez, and it proved to be a good move by coach Maradona; after a few inspired moves, Aguëro then provided the assist for Higuaín’s third, chipping a ball for the Real Madrid striker to head in while on a run. The replays showed that Higuaín was offside, but it wasn’t spotted by the officials and the goal was allowed to stand.

South Korea knew they had been beaten, and looked a spent force towards the end of the match. Only fitting, then, that the last kick of the game was almost another for Argentina – and what a beautiful goal it would have been. Sending the Korean full-back every which way with some silky close control, Aguëro curled a ball toward the top corner of the far post. Unfortunately it sailed just wide of the mark.

After a generally dull round round of matches and few goals for us to talk about (bar the Germany-Australia match), it looked as if this tournament had finally come alive.

Final score: Argentina 4 - 1 South Korea

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While communication on the pitch is undoubtedly important, we must remember that football matches are noisy events. Decades ago, football matches in England were regularly set to a sound track of rattles and tickers. Today, drums lead the support when England play at Wembley, and repetitive (and often highly abusive) chants are a common part of going to see you favourite club. Surely, thousands of people hurling abuse at you is going to be far more detrimental to your on-pitch performance than a bunch of wind instruments?

Opposition to the vuvuzela is strong, and the South African authorities are considering to ban them before the tournament is over. In my humble opinion, this would be a shame, as they are a beacon of South African footballing culture, and if we take that away, then we lose some of the colour and atmosphere that a World Cup on any other continent could not bring.

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This game was always going to be a bit special for Argentina coach Diego Maradona. His final ever international match was against Nigeria in the 1994 World Cup, before he failed a drug test and was banned from the tournament. Now, he’s facing the Super Eagles in his first ever World Cup match as a manager, and he has unfinished business to take care of.

Maradona’s favoured 4-4-2 setup was criticised by his own star men Messi and Tévez, so the World Cup legend decided to take a gamble, playing his team in a formation that they had not tried before, but would accomodate Messi and Tévez.

Sporting the facial hair of a spaghetti western villain, the Argentina coach opted for a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Tévez on the right and Messi playing just behind target man Higuaín. A number of players were playing out of their usual position, most notably Jonás Gutierrez, who took up the right back despite normally residing on the left for Newcastle.

Not that the Nigeria formation was without its surprises, however. The classic 4-4-2 was unusual for Lars Lagerbäck’s side, with Obasi playing on the left wing as opposed to his more familiar spot on the right.

Messi absolutely ran riot from start to finish. He terrorised the Nigeria defence with his one-two passes (often involving Véron, who also had a brilliant game) and slick dribbling around the penalty box. He looked like he really wanted to score – and prove his critics wrong, who questioned his comparatively poor performance in Argentina’s qualifying campaign, compared to that for Barcelona, even if by his own monumental standards. The man who coach Maradona humbly described as “my own Maradona” tried relently to get the ball in the back of the net, however this game saw him do just about everything else but that.

Real Madrid striker Gonzalo Higuaín also repeatedly failed to hit the net. He missed a number of chances that he really should have put away, especially given his form this season for the Spanish club.

"El Diego" can't resist having a little kickabout on the touch line

One man who did find the net, however, was Olmpique Marseille and former Manchester United full-back Gabriel Heinze, and he did it just six minutes from kick-off. He was left completely unmarked during an Argentina free-kick from near the corner spot, and he headed home to punish the oppositions early.

Nigeria’s marking was generally awful, despite having some big players on their side. Argentina, on the other hand, were fluid on the attack, and frequently posed problems for the Nigeria defence. Considering all the hype surrounding Messi, it was surprising that they laid off him, allowing him to trouble the keeper with a few well-placed shots curling shots.

Nigeria’s keeper Enyeama was the only thing preventing his side the embarrassment of much bigger scoreline. He played an absolutely brilliant match, stopping one-on-ones and reaching out to make some difficult saves. There was a bit of worry for the Nigeria coach 23 minutes in, as his best performer went down in pain, but luckily for his side he was able to continue shortly after.

For all of Argentina’s brilliance going forward, however, they were predictably disorganised at the back. Gutierrez looked particularly uncomfortable, having to play out of his normal position. Nigeria should have capitalised on this, but the fact is they just weren’t getting enough men forward to take advantage of Argentina’s weakness in defence.

Nigeria finally stepped up a gear toward the end of the match, with both sides trying to make something out of the quick counter-attack. Uche should have buried a volley from Yakubu’s cross, but tipped it over.

None of the Nigeria players, bar Yukubu, seemed to have any sort of first touch and, added to their poor marking and inability to pressure their opponents’ defence for much of the game, they were simply outclassed in this match. Argentina will have to sort their defence out, however, if they’re to go all the way in this competition.

Final result: Argentina 1 – 0 Nigeria

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Greece were on the whole unimpressive in their opening game against South Korea, but will be thanking Zeus they didn’t suffer a heavier defeat.

South Korea lined up with a 4-2-3-1 formation, making it their priority not to concede in their opening match of the tournament.

Greece went into the game having yet to score in a World Cup match, and seeing as they started with three up front, it looked like the Euro 2004 winners were aiming to make history.

Just two minutes in, Greece should have opened the scoring. Left wing back Torosidis popped a shot over that he really should have put away – not least because South Korea full back Lee Jung-Soo managed to tap a goal in from the free kick, giving his side the lead just four mintes later.

The early lead seemed to set the South Koreans on fire, while having a less fortunate effect on the Greeks, whose chaotic defence was only just managing to hang on against the Koreans who went at them like rabid dogs. Greece, as such, failed to hold on to the ball for much of the match, struggling to deal with the South Koreans pushing higher and higher up the pitch.

South Korea should have got their second after 27 minutes, when a through ball toPark Chu Young left the striker with only the keeper to beat – however Alexandros Tzorvas did well to get a foot on it and keep his side hanging on.

South Korea almost gifted their opponents the equaliser just before the break, when goalkeeper Jung Sung-Ryong made a hash of a a high cross, almost dropping the ball at the feet of Greek striker Gekas.

Park Ji-Sung celebrates his goal against Greece

Not long into the second half, South Korea got another goal when centre-back Vyntras’s mistake let captain Park Ji-Sung through. The Manchester United winger held off two defenders and slid the ball in to the back of the net nicely.

They should have made it a third just minutes later, however, as Park Chu-Young headed the ball over from point blank range.

Greece finally decided they had to step up their game, and put the pressure on their opponents for a short time. They even protested for a penalty, claiming that Lee Young-Pyo handled the ball in his own box – the replay shows it hit his chest, and the linesman flag was already up, anyway.

Still trailing and being out-performed in the final minutes, Greece switched to a 4-4-2 to try and build their attack through the wings. They even throw a few extra men forward, but it’s not enough to snatch their first ever World Cup goal as a consolation.

Final score:
South Korea 2 – 0 Greece

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As I mentioned in my previous post, Argentina are blessed with a wealth of attacking talent but lack organisation in defence, as well as a tactically sound manager. Even with the help of World Player of the year Leo Messi, La Albiceleste qualified for the tournament off the back of a rather unconvincing qualifying campaign which rested on the final game for Argentina to make it to the World Cup. Messi himself netted a very average (by his own high standards) four goals.

Inconsistency is probably the squad’s biggest failing. Coach Diego Maradona has used no less than 49 different players during qualifying, is unsure of his best formation and his tactics have been heavily questioned. Morale also appears to be a problem, and the team may find it difficult to hold their temperament for more than three games.

Nevertheless, the Argies will no doubt be expected to take the top spot. Although much has been said of Maradona’s rather dubious coaching ability, the fact is that my nan could probably take the team to a respectable distance in the competition, given the talent in the squad.

My prediction: 1st

Nigeria

It’s been a long time since the Super Eagles were African Cup of Nation and Olympic gold medallists in the mid-nineties. The nation has since failed to make much of an impact on the world stage since. The fact that star man John Obi Mikel has fallen prey to the injury curse that is wreaking havoc to big-name players in the lead up to the World Cup, is another huge blow to the team.

However manager Lars Lagerback is fairly new in charge, having taken the helm only in February, and few friendlies have been arranged for the squad, meaning that the new coach has yet to really show what he can do.

The team suffer from a similar disorganisation that blights the Argentina side, but without raw footballing talent of their South American rivals. Expect the Nigerians to put up a fight on their home continent, but don’t expect them to go too far.

My prediction: 3rd

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Diego Maradona in his glory days against England in the 1986 World Cup.

Argentina coach and World Cup legend Diego Maradona has something of a task on his hands when it comes to deciding who’ll be on the plane to South Africa next month – simply because the country is producing too much outstanding talent at the moment.

In fact, so rich is the talent in Argentina that Inter Milan duo Estéban Cambiasso and Javier Zanetti have been left out of the provisional 30-man squad, despite being instrumental in securing another Serie A title for Inter and taking them to the Champions’ League final. Their team mates Diego Milito and Walter Samuel do make the grade, however.

Milito has scored 24 goals in 41 league games for Inter this season, making him a possible outside bet for the World Cup’s Ballon d’Or (golden boot). Yet, he may have to fight for his place in the starting 11, amidst stiff competition from Gonzalo Higuain, Carlos Tevez, Kún Aguero and of course, Lional Messi.

Leo Messi is undoubtedbly going to be in the starting line-up – the Barcelona winger is possibly the best player in the world at the moment. That leaves the remaining spot up-front for either Tevez, Higuain and Aguero. Higuain has had a good season for Real Madrid, but failed to prove himself in a number of big games. Aguero has also had a pretty good season for Atlético Madrid, helping them to a Europa League trophy – and of course he’s Maradona’s son-in-law. Finally, Tevez has had a great season at Man City, netting 23 goals in 35 games – leaving Manchester United fans wishing they had kept him instead of Dimitar Berbatov.

Star man: Leo Messi

Midfield names to watch include Juan Sebastian Verón and Javier Mascherano. What Verón lacks in pace he makes up for with his vision, forming a particalarly effective partnership with Messi. Liverpool midfielder Mascherano has been given the captain’s armband and has proved to be a reliable player in the middle of the pitch. His club team-mate Maxi Rodriguez is also likely to appear on the right wing – and we’re hoping to see another beauty from him like this one against Mexico, which was voted the best goal of the previous World Cup in 2006.

Argentina’s defence may their undoing, however. It seems that Maradona has looked to the Argentinian league to build half of his defence, although old favourites such as Marseilles Gabriel Heinze also bring some much-needed experience to the back line. However the team’s qualifying campaign has shown that the defence lacks order and security.

While the team boasts an abundance of talent, their performance in the qualifiers has been poor, and they will need to show that they have both the hunger and discipline if they are to get their hands of the World Cup trophy. As for Maradona himself, while he has plenty of World Cup experience as a player, he hasn’t been managing for long and is short on coaching experience – which may prove to be a vital necessity in South Africa.

bottom line: It may turn out to be a clever move to put your money on Argentina winning the World Cup, but they’re going to have to prove themselves in the early stages first.

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