ARGENTINA + SOUTH KOREA + NIGERIA + GREECE
Fixtures:
ITV Sat June 12 South Korea v Greece Port Elizabeth 12.30
BBC Sat June 12 Argentina v Nigeria Ellis Park 15.00
ITV Thu June 17 Argentina v South Korea Johannesburg 12.30
BBC Thu June 17 Greece v Nigeria Bloemfontein 15.00
BBC Tue June 22 Nigeria v South Korea Durban 19.30
BBC Tue June 22 Greece v Argentina Polokwane 19.30
ARGENTINA
Coach: Diego Maradona (since 2008)
FIFA World ranking: 7
World Cup best: Winners in 1978 and 1986
Last appearance: 2006 - Quarter Finals
How they qualified: Argentina endured a torturous campaign in the South American Qualifying Group and it looked a real possibility that they would miss out on a World Cup finals for the first time since 1970, or that they would have to contest a playoff at best. It all started sweetly enough with three straight wins, but there were then just another three wins (and six defeats) in the next 13 games, a run which included embarrassing losses to Bolivia (6-1) and at home against Brazil (3-1). But the Argentines just pulled through with successive victories against Peru and Uruguay in the final two matches.
Premier League picks: Argentina's midfield is awash with Premier League talent as Liverpool pair Javier Mascherano and Maxi Rodriguez take their place alongside Newcastle's Jonas Gutierrez. Manchester City's Carlos Tevez has also made it into the 23 but he is not a favourite of Diego Maradona and seems unlikely to displace Lionel Messi any time soon. Messi's presence also means Internazionale's Champions League Final hero Diego Milito is unlikely to start. Gutierrez's Newcastle team mate, defender Fabricio Coloccini, failed to make the cut. Full squad. Prediction: Semi Finals
There will be no team at the finals more enigmatic than Argentina. Having struggled almost all the way through qualifying, there was a sense of relief in Buenos Aires last November simply for the fact that the Albiceleste had made it. But a promising draw in December changed all that and it is a bullish Argentine team which will take to the field in South Africa. With Lionel Messi in their team, they have every right to be confident but his effectiveness - and Argentina's hopes - will rely on how Diego Maradona deploys him. Messi struggled in the 4-4-2 system used in the qualifiers but he could be as lethal as Maradona the player in 1986 if Maradona the coach selects a Barcelona-style 4-3-3.
SOUTH KOREA
Coach: Huh Jung-Moo (since 2007)
FIFA World ranking: 47
World Cup best: Semi Finals in 2002
Last appearance: 2006 - First Round
How they qualified: South Korea qualified for the finals with two games to spare, achieving an unbeaten record of four wins and four draws in final Asian Qualifying Group B though they were barely tested in a weak section. The South Koreans started well, achieving a 1-1 draw in North Korea before successive wins against the United Arab Emirates at home and Saudi Arabia away. This was followed by a 1-1 draw in Iran and then a big 1-0 home win over North Korea. The 2-0 away win at the UAE meant Huh Jung-Moo's men were able to relax in their final two games, home draws against the Saudis and Iran.
Premier League picks: Manchester United midfielder Park Ji-Sung will be the big British-based star on show in a South Korea shirt but Bolton Wanderer's Lee Chung-Yong and Celtic's Ki Sung-Yong have also made it into the final 23. Former Middlesbrough striker Lee Dong-Guk is in the squad, having missed out in 2002 and 2006, the latter because of injury, despite another injury this time. Including Lee, there are no fewer than 16 players based in Korea, Japan and China. Full squad.
Prediction: Second Round
South Korea will hope to evoke the spirit of 2002 as they aim to make it through the group stages of an abroad World Cup for the first time at the seventh attempt. And, while they may not now have Guus Hiddink or a nation of fantastical support with them like they did eight years ago, they do have Greece and Nigeria in their group. They have previously had to face Argentina and Italy (in 1986), Spain and Uruguay (in 1990), Germany and Spain (in 1994), Netherlands and Mexico (in 1998), and Switzerland and France (in 2006). So, it would be fair to say that Greece and Nigeria represent the Koreans' best ever chance of making the last 16 in a World Cup abroad. Huh Jung-Moo certainly hopes so. He becomes the first Korean to take charge of the national team at a World Cup since 1998 when Cha Bum-Kun was sacked after losing the first two games.
NIGERIA
Coach: Lars Lagerback (since February 2010)
FIFA World ranking: 21
World Cup best: Second Round in 1994 and 1998
Last appearance: 2002 - First Round
How they qualified: Nigeria were thankful to Mozambique for ensuring that they did not miss out on a second successive World Cup finals. Though the Super Eagles finished unbeaten in final African Qualifying Group B, three draws meant they had fallen behind Tunisia in the table going into the last game. All the Tunisians needed to do was beat Mozambique but they were beaten by a single goal seven minutes from time. In the meantime, Nigeria looked like they could still miss out - they were heading for another draw, this time against Kenya, when Obafemi Martins scored a goal nine minutes to make the score 3-2.
Premier League picks: Veteran Portsmouth striker Nwankwo Kanu, now aged 33, is a surprise choice by Swedish coach Lars Lagerback. Kanu is back-up to Everton's Aiyegbeni Yakubu and former Newcastle striker Obafemi Martins. Yakubu's team-mate Josef Yobo has made it into the 23 but Victor Anichebe misses out. There were meant to be four other Premier League players in the squad but Jon Obi Mikel joins fellow Chelsea midfielders Michael Ballack and Michael Essien on the sidelines with injury. The other three to make it in the squad are Daniel Shittu of Bolton, Dickson Etuhu of Fulham and Kanu's Pompey team mate John Utaka. Full squad.
Prediction: First Round
The World Cup draw would have brought back happy memories to Nigeria fans after being pitted against Argentina and Greece, just like in 1994. Of course, in their mid-1990s heyday, Nigeria were the best team on the continent, winning Olympic gold in 1996 and reaching the knockout stages of consecutive World Cups. But those days are long gone now and Shaibu Amodu will have felt a different sense of deja vu after he was ditched as coach just months before the finals, just as he was before World Cup 2002. It did not work then and, unless former Sweden coach Lars Lagerback has instilled discipline into the defence in double-quick time, it will not work this time either.
GREECE
Coach: Otto Rehhagel (since 2001)
FIFA World ranking: 13
World Cup best: First Round in 1994
Last appearance: 1994
How they qualified: Greece qualified in an instantly-recognisable style, grinding out a 1-0 aggregate win over Ukraine in a UEFA Playoff. A 0-0 draw in Athens had made Ukraine the favourites but the Greeks' defence held out in the second leg in Kiev and Dimitris Salpigdis scored the only goal of the tie on 31 minutes. Earlier, Greece had disappointed, finishing in second place in UEFA Qualifying Group Two behind Switzerland. It was the least that was expected, given that they finished ahead of Latvia, Israel, Luxembourg and Moldova.
Premier League picks: Liverpool defender Sotiris Kyrgiakos and Celtic forward Georgios Samaras are the only two British-based players in a squad dominated by home-based talents. 14 of the 23 men ply their trade in Greece with eight from champions Panathinaikos including playoff hero Dimitris Salpigdis. But, for their goals, the Greeks be will looking to Euro 2004 hero Angelos Charisteas and Fanis Gekas, who got 10 in the qualifiers. Full squad.
Prediction: First Round
Greece arrive at only their second World Cup finals without bearing many gifts. Euro 2004 winning coach Otto Rehhegal is still in charge, and it shows. Of course, their wholly unexpected tournament win in 2004 was well-deserved but the style in which it was accomplished left a lot to be desired and there were fears that other teams would replicate the Greeks' series of one-nils to win a tournament. Since then, Spain have won Euro 2008 with some wonderful attacking displays and - more pertinently for Hellas - other teams, even Switzerland, have started to work them out. Ukraine could not manage it in the playoffs but ultra-defensive football will not get Greece far in this group.
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