GROUP B PREVIEW
Tom Moss examines Group B that contains many people’s favourites for the tournament, Diego Maradona’s Argentina. Pitted against the much-fancied South Americans are African powerhouses Nigeria along with South Korea and finally Greece, who shocked the footballing world, and probably themselves, by winning the 2004 European Championships. Is there a shock on the cards here? Probably not.
ARGENTINA: Argentina travel to South Africa with some of the most feared attacking players on the planet. Lionel Messi, Carlos Tevez, Sergio Aguero, Gonzalo Higuain, Diego Milito – five players who would canter onto any other team, with the possible exception of Spain. Messi is undoubtedly the finest player in the world at the moment, a visionary delight to the eyes, capable of just about anything and continually improving. Higuain has outshone all of Real Madrid’s Galacticos with a superb season in La Liga, while Tevez and Aguero have been the torment of countless defences for Man City and Atletico Madrid respectively and Milito struck both goals for Inter Milan as they strolled past Bayern Munich to win the Champions League. Little wonder then that they are seen as one of the red-hot favourites.
Despite their unquestionable attacking talent however, I can’t see them winning the tournament. They limped through qualification and only a last minute goal from veteran striker Martin Palermo against Peru kept their qualification hopes alive. That goal, celebrated by Maradona with a dance in the rain that would have had poor Gene Kelly turning in his grave, all but saved the controversial manager his job, but since then he has continued to flabbergast his compatriots with off-the-wall press conferences and unusual squad selections.
Leaving Esteban Cambiasso at home must rank as one of the greatest crimes against football in recent times, an assault on the game compounded by the selection of Juan Seba Veron as his replacement. Veron has been enjoying something of an Indian summer at Estudiantes, but to leave the Inter string-puller behind will hinder his side’s prospects – to what extent it is yet unknown. The omission of Javier Zanetti was also a shocking indictment of Maradona’s player judgment abilities but nonetheless, with the likes of Javier Mascherano, Nicolas Burdisso and Walter Samuel bolstering the Argentines, they will be expected to advance from this group with relative ease.
PROBABLE STARTING XI:
1. Sergio Romero, 2. Nicolas Burdisso, 3. Gabriel Heinze, 4. Walter Samuel, 5.Martin Demichelis, 6.Javier Mascherano, 7. Mazi Rodriguez, 8. Juan Seba Veron, 9. Gonzalo Higuain, 10. Lionel Messi, 11. Angel Di Maria.
KEY MAN: Javier Mascherano – Not Messi? Well, you could have slipped into a coma two years ago and still be aware of the little magician’s exceptional abilities, but if Argentina are to succeed, Mascherano is the man who will need to be on top of his game more so than anyone else. He alone can provide his attacking superstars with the base upon which their flair and breathtaking abilities can flourish. Maradona has called his side ‘Mascherano and ten others’, which gives an indication of the importance bestowed on the Liverpool midfielder by his manager.
ONE TO WATCH: Angel Di Maria– Benfica won’t be able to hold on to this guy’s services once the tournament ends, and all they can hope for is a solid tournament that would bump an extra million or ten onto his asking price. Boasting more speed than Usain Bolt at a Colombian house-party, Di Maria has the ability to light the tournament on fire.
STRENGTHS: Going forward, they have the players to destroy pretty much any other nation in the tournament, and perhaps the real shame is that only two of the five-star attack will probably start. One can only wonder what kind of team Ossie Ardiles would have fielded given his penchant for the 3-2-5 formation that made White Hart Lane the best venue for goal-scoring action during his traumatic reign with Spurs in the late 1990’s.
WEAKNESSES: Like France, a dodgy coach with an ego bigger than the country he lives in may be considered as one of the main weaknesses, but with most of their key players being strikers, the Argentinians will have to rely on the likes of Maxi Rodriguez, Juan Veron or, worse still, Jonas Guitierrez to get the ball to Messi and co., and that’s never a good thing.
NIGERIA: The Eagles of Nigeria have yet to take full flight and a fraught build-up won’t have helped. New manager Lars Lagerback has only been in the job since February and like Argentina, they struggled in qualification. Once the best team in Africa, their current squad looks particularly weak and if the continent is to have its first ever World Cup winner, which is very unlikely, other nations, most notably The Ivory Coast, appear to be stronger candidates.
Chelsea midfield anchorman John Obi Mikel is the star name in the squad, which in itself is worrying, but the fact that he is struggling with a knee injury sums up their prospects. I would be surprised if they advanced beyond the group stages despite being in one of the weaker groups, although they do have a dynamic front line and the relative proximity to home may also boost their chances.
PROBABLE STARTING XI:
1. Vincent Enyeama, 2. Chidi Odiah, 3. Taye Taiwo, 4. Joseph Yobo, 5. Danny Shittu, 6. John Obi Mikel, 7.Peter Odemwingie , 8. Dickson Etuhu, 9. John Utaka, 10. Obafemi Martins, 11. Chinedu Obasi.
KEY MAN: John Obi Mikel – Mikel is the Nigerian superstar, lauded the country over as the man to guide The Eagles into the latter stages of the tournament. A decent season with Chelsea will leave him in the right frame of mind, but with few equally capable players around him, it may be a mammoth task for the young midfielder.
ONE TO WATCH: Peter Odemwingie – A highly-rated winger with eight goals in 44 caps, Odemwingie has been a revelation at times for Lokomotiv Moscow, and he is certainly capable of unsettling opponents with his trickery and pace.
STRENGTHS: Nigeria have always gave a good account of themselves in their previous World Cup experiences, and with plenty of pace and vibrancy in attack, the Eagles will ruffle a few feathers.
WEAKNESSES: One of the most inexperienced squads in the competition, you get the feeling that they will be punished by their more tournament-savvy opponents. There is no doubt that they will bring colour and energy to the tournament, but that only gets you so far and their wings will probably be clipped by the methodical Greeks.
GREECE: Greece may be the antithesis of the Nigerian way of playing the beautiful game, but history shows that it’s the Greek style that usually comes out on top. Very defensively orientated, they will sit back and soak the life out games, with only set pieces and rare counter-attacks making up their attacking threat.
In coach Otto Rehhagel they have a tactical expert, a master of playing to a side’s strengths, and when his defensive approach was criticised he responded that ‘Greece will play exciting football when we have the likes of Kaka and Messi’.
That they certainly don’t, but it wouldn’t surprise me if they bored their way past the group stages before taking a hiding in the last-16.
PROBABLE STARI NG XI:
1. AlexandrosTzorvas, 2. Giourkas Seitaridis, 3. Loukas Vyntra, 4. Sotirios Kyrgiakos, 5. Vangelis Moras, 6. Kostas Katsouranis, 7. Sotiris Ninis, 8. Giorgos Karagounis, 9. Angelos Charisteas, 10. Georgios Samaras, 11.VasilisTorosidis.
KEY MAN: Giorgos Karagounis – Karagounis captains the Greeks in this tournament, and while the rest of the team are busy kicking the ball as far away from their goal as possible, Karagounis will try to get the ball and play a bit. If he is allowed to do so, he can be an extremely tricky customer, and his free-taking abilities point to him being the Greek hero should they advance to the next round.
ONE TO WATCH – Sotiris Ninis – Ninis was left out of the 2008 European Championship squad, and at 20 is the youngest member of the current squad, but Ninis could well have a big tournament ahead of him. He has been linked with moves to the elite of the European clubs, and should Greece need a Plan B, Ninis may well be the man to help them out.
STRENGTHS: Greece have three main strengths – defence, defence and finally, defence. The Greeks know their strength, and have spent nine years under Reheggal perfecting it. There won’t be any shock tactics employed and if their ‘attack’ (if you would call it that) can nick a goal here and there, they should do well, because they certainly won’t leak too many.
WEAKNESSES: Over-reliant on their defenders, Greece have very little to offer up front. While it worked well to win them the Europeans in 2004, it may be a different story this time around, and their lack of flair should see them fail in the second round should they advance from the group.
SOUTH KOREA: Reached the semi-finals on home soil in 2002, and did reasonably well in Germany last time around. Argentina should be too strong for them, and the Greeks will be tough to break down, and so it’s unfortunate that their game with Nigeria comes last because it probably represents their best chance of a win. That said, they do have players who are more than capable of turning a game on its head, and a result against Greece could see them upset the odds and progress to the next round.
Without the guidance of Hiddink or Advocaat, they are currently managed by Huh Jung Moo, and they qualified without losing a game, an unbeaten run of fourteen games in which they conceded only eight goals.
PROBABLE STARTING XI:
1. Lee Woon-Jae, 2. Oh-Beom Seok, 3. Kim Hyung-Il, 4. Cho-Yong Hyung, 5. Cha Du-Ri, 6. Kim Jung-Woo, 7. Park Ji-Sung, 8. Kim Nam-Il, 9. Park-Chu Young, 10. Lee Dong-Gook, 11. Lee Chung-Yong.
KEY MAN: Park Ji-Sung – The Man United midfielder struggled with a knee injury throughout the 2006 tournament, and Dick Advocaat saw that as a key reason for their failure to get past the group stages. Alex Ferguson always opts for Park in big games, pointing to a temperament and attitude that is perfect for this global event. Everything depends on Park’s ability to rally his troops and carve open the miserly defences that they will encounter in the opening round.
ONE TO WATCH: Park Chu-Young – Chu-Young currently plies his trade at Monaco, and with eight goals in twenty Ligue 1 appearances, the young striker has been touted as South Korea’s next big star. Fourteen international goals also indicate that he can do it at the highest level.
STRENGTHS: The Koreans will be riding high following a very impressive qualifying campaign, and arriving in South Africa high in confidence and with nothing to lose, they will be a dangerous proposition for Greece and Nigeria, if not Argentina.
WEAKNESSES: Although they qualified without losing a single game, the teams in their group still represent a step up in class, and it remains to be seen if they can cope against the bigger nations.
OUTRIGHT BETTING: GROUP BETTING:
Argentina – 7/1 Argentina – 2/5
Nigeria – 125/1 Nigeria – 5/1
Greece – 200/1 Greece -7/1
South Korea – 250/1 South Korea – 11/1
MY PREDICTION: It’s almost implausible to suggest that Argentina will struggle in this group. There are always major surprises in the opening rounds but I would suggest you look elsewhere for those. They have enough to comfortably see off both Nigeria and South Korea, and they should have little to worry about by the time they meet Greece in the last group game. The race appears to be for second, and realistically any of the rest could nick it, but I can see Greece eeking out the results and again, playing an unmotivated Argentina last gives them the upper hand.
1. Argentina 7pts
2. Greece 5pts
3. Nigeria 2pts
4. South Korea 1pt
