- Argentina : They got speed. They got flair. They got Messi !!! For a change, Messi was playing more than what people must have expected from him with the Argentine shirt on. If it wasnt for the great goal keeping of Nigeria's Vincent Enyeama in the first game, we could have probably seen Messi's first goal in the World Cup finals. This team is very confidant and playing attacking football. They also have a fairly good defense. Its an easy group for them. After convincingly winning the first two matches, they are the first team to have qualified for the Knockout stage.
- South Korea : Very quick in the field. Very good attacking game. Very athletic. They should give a good fight to Nigeria. They are the surprise package for me in this World Cup. They even managed to salvage a goal against Argentina. Their next match against Nigeria will definitely produce good football. They are very good at man to man marking and have a formidable defense. The battle for the second place in this group is something to be watched out for. They need to beat Nigeria and hope that Greece lose [ or atleast lose concede more goals than them ] to Argentina.
- Greece : Horrible start. Completely dis-organised. Feel sorry for them. After having qualified to the World Cup finals, one hopes that the teams manage to at-least score some goals, if not victories. They seem to have failed to do that for all of their World Cup finals matches. I was hoping they at-least score a goal this year and salvage some pride. Their victory against Nigeria was another surprise. They could consider themselves lucky to be in this position. They now have to produce another miracle to beat Argentina and hope South Korea falter against Nigeria.
- Nigeria : Looked very promising. Impressive goal keeping by Vincent Enyeama. They might have to tighten up some loopholes in their almost good defense. They are fast and have good strikers in the front. It was a surprise to see them unfortunately lose to Greece. This group has been full of surprises !!! Feels sad for them, since they played very well but ended up being the first team to be knocked out of the World Cup since they are yet to open their points tally, losing both their opening matches.
Argentina had already qualified before the last leg of the first round and after beating Greece comprehensively they move into the Knockout stage with wins in all 3 group matches.
ReplyDeleteSouth Korea drew with gritty Nigeria to become the first Asian country to qualify for the Knockout stage in this World Cup.
Nigeria played great football but became the 3rd African nation to exit the World Cup, joining South Africa and Cameroon.
South Korea will play against Uruguay in the first of the Knockout matches while Argentina will battle it out with Mexico for a place in Quarter Finals.