Group B final set of games

South Korea 2-2 Nigeria

Nigeria came into the game knowing that they could qualify with a win, providing that Argentina beat Greece. South Korea knew they probably only needed a draw (assuming Greece didn't beat Argentina).

As a result Nigeria came out with positive intent, and it was they who opened the scoring after only 12 minutes. Odiah took it past two South Koreans down the flank before sending a low cross in, Uche ghosted in front of the defender and finished with aplomb. It was a combination of South Korea showing weakness in defence and Uche showing a cutting edge to score.

The impressive Uche could have made it 2-0 soon after. A venomous long-range shot smacked into the post as Nigeria came tantalisingly close to putting one foot in the second round. Instead South Korea were to get the equaliser not long before half-time. Awarded a free kick on the left flank Ki Sung-Yong swung in the free kick and Lee Jung-soo bundled home, unmarked thanks to an error from Afolabi. It was an odd goal as it came off Lee Jung-soo's head and then knee on the way into the net.

South Korea took the lead early in the second half. Shittu committed the foul and Park Chu-Young converted the long distance free-kick. Enyeama was wrong footed by the shot and perhaps should have been positioned better. It wasn't the best free-kick but it crept in at the far post.

Errors were costing Nigeria dearly. Now behind they had to throw caution to the wind. As the game wore on we witnessed one of the misses of all time. Ayila squared the ball to an unmarked Yakubu who had an open goal in front of him. He inexplicably put the ball wide. A couple of minutes later he was able to atone for the error, converting a penalty after Kim Nam-Il had brought Obasi down in the box. It was a frantic ending to the match as Martins and Obinna had a couple of good chances each but were unable to profit. Inches away from the second round...

Nigeria would rue their defensive errors. South Korea had played some nice football and had more chances than my review has indicated. Park Chu-Young was the most impressive South Korean in my opinion. For Nigeria both Uche and Obasi had looked quality. Nigeria were eliminated and overall they would rue defensive lapses, wasted opportunities and ill-discipline in the Greece match. South Korea qualified for a second-round date with Uruguay.

Argentina 2-0 Greece

Greece went into this game knowing a win might not be enough to qualify, but a draw might. In other words the Group had a number of permutations and they knew they had to win to give themselves the best chance possible. Argentina had already qualified and only needed a draw to ensure top spot. As a result they rested a few players.

Despite this Greece did not go into the game attempting to attack Argentina from the offset. Instead they were happy to defend, soak up the pressure and hit Argentina with a fast counter-attack. Argentina looked very exciting moving forward and it was thanks to some impressive saves from Tsorvas (as well as some good defending in general) that it took Argentina until the 79th minute to open the scoring. Demichelis stabbed home from a corner kick after his intial shot was blocked by fellow team-mate Milito. The second goal came when Messi beat a couple of players and thundered a spectacular shot which hit the post - veteran striker Palermo was alert to slot home the rebound. Messi had shown a number of flashes of brilliance throughout the game as he continued his run of playing very well but not scoring.

Greece had had a few chances throughout the match, these mainly falling to Samaras. He was unable to convert any of them however. One of them in particular he really should have scored.

But it was Maradona's Argentina to finish first in the group (they will take on Mexico in the second round) and Greece to take an early flight home.

Group B permutations

Before the tournament I predicted Argentina. I'm not a quitter so I'll stick with that although I now have an inkling that Argentina and South Korea might make it. Let's look at the numbers.

Argentina only need a point against Greece to qualify. They will qualify with a loss if Nigeria win or draw against South Korea. The only way they could miss out on qualification is if they lose to Greece and South Korea win - with a heavy swing. In this situation 3 teams would be on 6 points and it would come down to goal difference. Currently Argentina are +4, South Korea are -1 and Greece are -1. So it would take something amazing for Argentina to be going home.

Greece can qualify with a win if Nigeria draw or beat South Korea. If South Korea also win they will need to beat Argentina by more than South Korea beat Nigeria. They can qualify with a draw if Nigeria beat South Korea or if South Korea also draw and score 2 more goals in their game than Greece do in theirs. Greece will be knocked out if they lose.

South Korea will qualify with a win (providing if Greece also win they can equal the margin of victory). They will qualify with a draw if Argentina win or if Greece draw and do not score 2 more goals than South Korea in their draw. South Korea will be eliminated if they lose.

Nigeria will qualify if they win and Greece lose. That is the only way they can qualify. But this scenario is quite possible!

Argentina will probably rest a few players for this game but should still have enough to win. I wouldn't be at all surprised if South Korea v Nigeria was a draw and South Korea got through. But as I initially picked Nigeria I'm gonna say Nigeria can get the victory they need (coupled with an Argentine loss)

Group B's second round of games

Argentina 4-1 South Korea

Argentina were thoroughly dominant against South Korea. The South Americans were lively and creative in the opening stages but hardly had a shot on target before they were ahead. A well delivered cross from Messi was botched by the defence, Park Chu-young turning it into his own net. Soon it was 2-0 with a goal from Higuain, but with half-time fast approaching Argentina failed to take a deserved two goal lead into the break - Demichelis criminally lingered on the ball too long allowing Lee Chung-yong to latch onto it before firing home. The South Koreans had one spell of sustained pressure which came midway through the second half - Yeom Ki-hun had a wonderful opportunity to equalise but his shot hit the side netting. Normal service was resumed and Higuain completed a hat-trick. His finishes were all simple and all the goals came as a result of sumptuous build up play from the Argentinians, Messi being the common denominator of them all. South Korea had had very little answer to an Argentinian master-class.

Greece 2-1 Nigeria

Greece picked up their first ever victory in a World Cup finals match. Nigeria scored an early goal thanks to the Greek keeper Tsorvas moving to a spot where he predicted Odemwingie would aim his header - instead Odemwingie ducked under the ball and let it bounce invitingly into an empty net. It was in truth, poor goal-keeping. Greece came right back into the game when Kaita of Nigeria had a brain explosion and was rightfully sent off. The ball had gone out for a throw and Kaita was so enraged that he kicked out, studs up at Torosidis. Torosidis may have gone down like a sack of spuds and wrongly started clutching his face but it was a clear red, and one that had severely dented the Nigerians chances of hanging on. Salpingidis equalised not too long after thanks to a massive deflection off Haruna.

The second half saw Greece dominant. It was as if the sending off had left Nigeria bereft of any ideas and had completely turned the tide the opposite way. Enyeama was again on inspired form again so it was a pity that it was he who made the mistake that caused an equaliser for the Greeks. He failed to hold onto a shot that should have been saved from Tziolis, helping the ball into the path of Torosidis to stab home. It was perhaps the first goalkeeping mistake I could put partly down to the swerve of the Jabulani ball (or was it the altitude) and it was a great shame after such brilliant performances in both games, that Enyeama would provide the basis for the goal. All 3 goals of the game were down to errors and the sending off had completely changed the complexion of the match, but the long and the short of it was - Greece had a first World Cup win and Nigeria were left ruing what might have been.

Group B opening games

South Korea 2-0 Greece

South Korea were dominant throughout the match and very worthy of their victory. Greece's reputation for being built on a solid defence was in tatters after the game as it was two very poor errors that handed South Korea both goals. Lee Jung-Soo was not picked up when the ball was crossed in for the first goal. For the second Vyntra inexplicably gave the ball away when receiving a routine pass from Seitaridis, Park Ji-Sung profited going off a nice run before finishing adroitly.

It could have all been so different had Torosidis not failed to convert a fantastic opportunity from six yards in the early minutes. But apart from that Greece had little in the way of goalscoring opportunities, save for 3 or 4 during a sustained 5 minutes of pressure midway through the second half. Top goalscorer in European qualifying Gekas was off his game but in fairness he just didn't get the service from a midfield lacking in imagination. In truth Greece were fairly abject throughout the field and will need massive improvement if they are to have any chance of doing anything other than make up the numbers in Group B.

But let this not take away from a quality performance from South Korea who kept possession well, defended well and played with an air of class. They played a very good game and easily deserved their 2 goal victory.

Argentina 1-0 Nigeria

In terms of quality football being played this has been the best of the first five games. Messi was top quality and was only foiled by some spectacular goalkeeping from Vincent Enyeama. Veron was off-colour with some of his passing and the Argentinian defence looked a bit suspect, a better strikeforce than Nigeria's would likely have made them pay. Their defence lacks pace with the likes of Samuel and Demichelis so it was an area that could have been exploited.

It was funny that with all Argentina's attacking quality the goal came from the head of defender Heinze. Argentina started with four highly attack minded players and ended up with five (when Maxi Rodriguez came on). This left Mascherano doing a helluva lot of work in defensive midfield. And with Gutierrez, normally a right winger, playing at right-back attack was concentrated down the right, leaving Di Maria fairly anonymous at times.

Nigeria played a 4-4-2 formation when a 4-3-3 would have been better. Particularly as Obasi likes to get forward. They performed better when the classic winger Odemwingie came on as he was able to exploit Gutierrez down that flank. The introduction of Martins also meant there was more pace available. Nigeria had a few reasonable chances but were unable to profit from them, continuing their general weakness of being goal shy. It was also exceptionally poor marking that enabled Heinze to ghost in completely unmarked for his goal.

There was this comment I enjoyed from another website which I happen to agree with: "Diego’s idea of throwing square pegs into circular holes simply because they’re carved of a higher quality wood will not work against good sides".

Group B preview

Argentina

Strengths: Argentina have a star studded line-up of exciting quality players. Messi is arguably the best footballer in the world, capable of regularly turning on sublime displays. Very creative, he provides good opportunities for others and scores plenty himself. With the likes of Higuain and Di Maria in their first eleven, and having the superb duo of Tevez and Diego Milito on the best bench in international football, they certainly have a lot of flair and potential for goals. They also boast the excellent Mascherano who can be the linchpin for their side and the experienced tough-tackling Samuel in defence. Goalkeeper Romero is a great talent and one to watch out for. Argentina have a clear idea of their World Cup starting line-up which will be of great help to them.

Weaknesses: Argentina's defence is probably their weakest aspect. They have a couple of strong names at the back in Samuel and Demichelis but it is an area that has been quite suspect in recent times, conceding a few too many goals. Maradona also made the strange decision not to pick the brilliant Zanetti who has been an amazing full-back for Inter Milan this season as well as leaving behind the outstanding defensive midfielder Cambiasso. The argument in favour of Maradona is that neither have done particularly well in the few games they played for their national side in qualifying. However Argentina may yet rue these decisions. Also, although Messi is possibly the biggest football genius since, well, Maradona, he has played a lot better for Barcelona than he has for his country.

Formation: Argentina should line up in a 4-4-2 type of arrangement. Maradona has expressed his wish that the fullbacks do not pass the halfway line which is unusual in an era where rampaging full-backs are all the rage. So it will be a fairly static backline allowing him to play just the one holding midfielder, Mascherano, who will need to cover the full width of the pitch. Veron will also be fairly deep lying looking to spray long precise passes to team-mates in more attacking positions. Gutierrez and Di Maria will be the wingers and Messi will play just off Higuain. Having resisted the temptation of producing a formation that could include all their attacking stars one would suggest the bench might be used a fair amount but with the formation tweaked rather than radically altered during games.

Manager: Diego Maradona is a former national football hero for Argentina. He has also been a controversial figure. The 1986 quarter-final against England typifies his combination of the sublime and the cheat. He equalised with the infamous 'Hand of God' goal before scoring possibly the best goal ever only 3 minutes later. In 1994 he was sent home from the World Cup in disgrace after failing a drugs test. He is both loved and loathed throughout the football world. His position as the very colourful manager of Argentina means no match they play can possibly be considered dull. He lacks managerial experience and has been accused of being both a drug and alcohol addict but he is a national icon. He has promised to run naked through Buenos Aires if Argentina win the World Cup. An unpredictable figure it is hard to gauge how well he will do as manager of Argentina at this World Cup - he could certainly surprise a few people.

Qualification: Argentina finished 4th in the South America qualifying group - the last automatic qualifying position - although they were in serious trouble at various stages throughout qualification. After a patchy 10 rounds in which Argentina had managed 4 wins, 4 draws and 2 losses manager Basile resigned, a few days later Maradona was named manager. In his second qualifying match as manager he oversaw an abysmal 6-1 loss to Bolivia. In general their patchy form continued scoring some wins but also some poor losses including Brazil's first win against Argentina in Argentina. But with 2 wins in their final 2 games Argentina qualified, leaving Uruguay requiring a play-off against Costa Rica.

World Cup pedigree: Argentina have an excellent World Cup pedigree. This is their 15th tournament. They have won twice (1978 and 1986) and finished second twice (1930 and 1990). They have never lost a semi-final but have been knocked out in the quarters on three occasions (1966, 1998 and 2006).

Chance of progression from Group B: 90%, probably in first place.

Greece

Strengths: Greece are a hardworking, organised unit who pay great attention to their defence. It was this outstanding defence that fired them to victory in the Euro 2004 Championships although they lost all 3 games at Euro 2008. They have one player of great goalscoring prowess: Gekas who scored ten goals in ten games during qualifying (top goalscorer in the Europe section) and who in general averages better than a goal every 2.5 games for Greece. They have an experienced squad with some of their most valuable players in their victorious 2004 side still around - such as Seitaridis, Karagounis, Katsouranis and Charisteas. They also work well together as a team.

Weaknesses: Greece lack creativity and flair and their type of game is well documented. Teams well understand that they need to break Greece down and will have practised ways to do so. Their experienced squad members are also aging and will be less effective than they were. Other veterans have retired and been replaced with youth and inexperience. Greece rely on moments of inspiration from their strikers or set pieces. They may be strong at holding onto a lead but they struggle to chase a game effectively. Aside from Gekas only four other players scored in their qualifying campaign. And 9/10 of Gekas' goals were scored against Moldova, Latvia and Luxembourg.

Formation: Greece will likely line-up 4-3-3 although this may change to 3-4-3 depending on the formation of the opposition. Rehaggel is a very tactically aware manager and will prefer 3 at the back when up against two strikers and 4 at the back when up against 3. He will employ 3 up front himself in order to keep the opposition full-backs busy.

Manager: Otto Rehhagel - one of Greece's strengths. He was at the helm when Greece won Euro 2004 and is very tactically astute.

Qualification: Greece finished 2nd behind Switzerland in a fairly easy qualifying group (Israel was the only other tough match). They then faced an aging Ukraine side in the playoffs winning 1-0 on aggregate.

World Cup pedigree: Greece have only made the World Cup finals once before - in 1994. In their Group they faced two teams they will be facing in 2010 - Argentina and Nigeria.

Chance of progression from Group B: 50%, will likely miss out.

Nigeria

Strengths: Nigeria have a solid defensive line-up. The likes of Yobo, Shittu and Etuhu will ensure they are a tough nut to crack. They also have talented attackers in the likes of Kanu, Yakubu and Martins with Odemwingie contributing from midfield. Fullback Taye Taiwo is a quick counter-attacking defender with a ferocious shot.

Weaknesses: Nigeria will really miss their best player Mikel who has been ruled out of the tournament. Mikel is an excellent player, particularly protecting the back four but also going forward. Nigeria do not have the strength of squad that they had in the mid to late nineties when they proved to be a force in world football - thus expectations will not be so high in 2010. Nigeria have received valid criticism for the slow cumbersome way they link defence and attack meaning that they are too predictable moving forward and so are easier to defend against. In other words at times they lack creativity and put the onus for providing such flair on too few shoulders. They have also been criticised for not selecting Anichebe or Ike Uche up front meaning that they instead rely on some old heads which some people fear may not cut it anymore.

Formation: No real indications have been given but 4-4-2 and 4-5-1 are the most likely formations.

Manager: Swede Lars Lagerback was handed the reigns only months ago (26 Feb 2010). He had resigned as Sweden's manager after their failure to qualify for World Cup 2010 - he had been at their helm for around a decade. Albeit hampered by only a short time in the job Lagerback brings experience and the potential for greater organisation. He also has the experience of beating Argentina as a manger - at the group stages of the 2002 World Cup (they won 2-1 and progressed to the 2nd round, Argentina were eliminated).

Qualification: This was far from easy for Nigeria. Going into the last round of games Tunisia were 2 points ahead of Nigeria. However they suffered a 1-0 loss to Mozambique and Nigeria came from behind to defeat Kenya 3-2 and pipped Tunisia in their group by 1 point. Hardly inspiring.

World Cup pedigree: Nigeria have competed in 3 previous world cups (94, 98 and 2002). In both 94 and 98 they qualified for the 2nd round and in their inaugural appearance in 94 almost made the quarters. Leading 1-0 against Italy Baggio equalised with only a couple of minutes remaining and Italy went on to win in extra-time.

Chance of progression from Group B: 60% probably in 2nd.

South Korea

Strengths: South Korea play with good pace and technique and have some good, experienced and influential players who can make a difference in South Africa. The 37 year old veteran keeper Lee Woon-Jae should get the nod and is still an excellent goalkeeper despite his advancing years. Park Ji-Sung is clearly the biggest star, plying his trade at Manchester Utd and a very good attacking threat from midfield. His work rate is undeniable and his service is spot on. Park Chu-Young of Monaco is expected to score the goals. In defence Lee Young-Pyo (33) has amassed 113 caps but it is 25 year old Oh Beom-Seok who is most important having played more qualifying games than any other defender. They defend well as a whole team, proved by conceding a meagre 4 goals from 8 games in their final qualifying group.

Weaknesses: South Korea are not a strong team in the physical sense. There is a danger of them underperforming against more physically dominant opposition and they may be vulnerable at set-pieces. They do not appear to have the individual brilliance that some teams possess. Reports suggest they will have difficulty playing at altitude, if so their game against Argentina will be interesting! It is thought that the more difficult opposititon they will face in South Africa will expose their defence to be weaker than their qualification campaign suggests.

Formation: South Korea traditionally enjoy playing a 4-4-2. Some reports suggest they will play 3-5-2 at the World Cup, I think it would be a mistake if they did.

Manager: Huh Jung-Moo. He has been manager since December 2007. He has revitalised some careers and made his team hard to beat.

Qualification: South Korea comfortably qualified for the World Cup and finished top of their final qualifying group ahead of North Korea, Saudi Arabia and Iran.

World Cup pedigree: South Korea have qualified for their 7th consecutive World Cup finals, an Asian record. They had never qualified before this. On each occasion they have been knocked out at the Group Stage, except when as hosts they finished fourth in 2002. This achievement was marred by controversy as very suspect refereeing decisions, particularly against Italy and Spain, helped them to the semi-finals.

Chance of progression from Group B: 50%, will probably miss out.