2010 World Cup Group B Match Preview Argentina Vs Nigeria

Match#3 of the world cup has Argentina squaring off against Nigeria Saturday June 12th at 16:00 South African time 9:00 am EST from Johannesburg, South Africa.  Ellis Park Stadium is sure to be packed full of frenzied fans ready for the start of another great day. These two teams have only met three times with Argentina holding the edge at 2 wins and 1 draw with 0 losses. In our preview of match 3 we will look at both squads and what each must do to win their opening match from group B.

Nigeria will probably have the crowd behind them which can fuel their desires in times of desperation.  They come into the match as the underdog Ranked #21 By Fifa they do have a tough squad and could surprise. For Nigeria to win this game they are going to have to play their best all around game.  They will have to fight hard for ninety minutes plus, play world class defense and somehow manage to pick up a few goals.  Aside from having to play top notch defense Nigeria will need to create lightning from their forwards Yakubu and Martins, these two must be involved if Nigeria wants to pull off the upset. If they can manage a few scores, play world class defense they could surprise.

Diego Maradona makes his return to the World Cup stage for the first time since 1994 where he was a player for Argentina.  Argentina ranked #7 nationally by Fifa has a very skilled team with talent in abundance.  The big question with them is will they capitalize on it?  They have one of the worlds best strikers in Lionel Messi whom many believe to be the best in the world.  He could be a catalyst to the scoring for the Argentine squad and they should have plenty of chances.    "Messi is a good player and we respect him. We hope he respects us too. We’re not thinking about Messi, we’re thinking about playing Argentina, a good team" Nigerian Forward Yakubu said when asked of playing against Messi. The strength of the Argentine team definitely has to be it's dangerous forwards so Nigeria will surely have their hands full in this match-up .  But I would have to give the edge to Argentina in this opening match of Group B.

My Pick -Argentina-

-Jefferson D. Powell