Charles Klein
This group for me is an underrated group of death. While Argentina are the headliners and ought to progress to the next round, potential slip-ups for Maradona's team abound. Only six spots separate Argentina from Greece in the FIFA rankings and Nigeria does not fall too far behind them (at 21st in the world). South Korea made it all the way to the semifinals in 2002 when it hosted the competition and has plenty of skilled players who could cause an upset.
Ultimately though I have to go chalk in this one. I did give the Africa bump to South Africa but I do not feel the same way about Nigeria going into the competition. Nigeria may be without key man John Obi Mikel and I think they will falter against Greece's tight defensive play. I am a fan of Obafemi Martins and Danny Shittu has one of the best names in modern football, but for me they are to finish third.
I do not expect Maradona to be so incompetent as to manage his team out of the competition at the group stage. Lionel Messi is just too good to allow that to happen. Factor in the amount of incredible attacking talent this 23-man roster boasts and one has enough to put a few goals in even against Greece's park the bus style of play. Maradona is spoiled for choice here, as he has Aguero, Tevez, Milito and Higuain from which to choose. Argentina also has the strength of Javier Mascherano, Esteban Cambiasso and Juan Sebastian Veron in midfield, as well as the pacy and much sought-after Angel Di Maria. Argentina are just too good, and will win this group.
Greece shocked (and bored) Europe and the rest of the world when they won the European Championship in 2004. Their style of play may be referred to as the exact opposite of how the Netherlands will play in this tournament. Greece tries to allow one fewer goal than the other team, and they are damn good at it too. They literally park the bus in front of goal and dare the other team to attempt to score on them. Greece attempt to bore the other team to pieces and then score when we all least expect it. I fully expect to find myself dozing off to sleep during at least one of their matches (probably the 4:30AM cracker with South Korea).
And last, and probably least, is South Korea. I am a huge fan of playmaker/gut-buster Park Ji-Sung (who plays for Manchester United) but I do not see enough attacking nous on this roster to break through the Greek defense or to outscore a team like Argentina. Unfortunately for South Korea, it appears that they will finish in the same spot of their group's table as their neighbors to the north.
Probable Starting XI's
Argentina
(4-4-2)
GK: Sergio Romero
DEF: Nicolas Otamendi, Martin Demichelis, Walter Samuel, Gabriel Heinze
MF: Jonas Guiterrez, Juan Sebastian Veron, Javier Mascherano, Angel Di Maria
ST: Lionel Messi, Diego Milito
Players To Watch: Lionel Messi, Angel Di Maria, Diego Milito
Greece
4-4-2
GK: Alexandros Tzorvas
DEF: Nikos Spiropoulos, Sotrios Kyrgiakos, Loukas Vyntra, Vasilis Torosidis
MF: Konstantinos Katsouranis, Giorgos Karagounis, Alexander Tziolis, Georgios Samaras
ST: Theofanis Gekas, Dimitrios Salpingidis
Players To Watch: Georgios Samaras, Sotrios Kyrgiakos
Nigeria
4-3-3
GK: Vincent Enyeama
DEF: Chidi Odiah, Joseph Yobo, Rabiu Afolabi, Taye Taiwo
MF: Sani Kaita, John Obi Mikel, Kalu Uche
ST: Peter Odemwingie, Obafemi Martins, Ayegbeni Yakubu
Players To Watch: John Obi Mikel, Obafemi Martins
South Korea
4-4-2
GK: Jung Sung-Ryong
DEF: Lee Young-Pyo, Kang Min-Soo, Lee-Jung-Soo, Cha Doo-Ri
MF: Park Ji-Sung, Ki-Sung Yong, Kim Jung-Woo, Lee Chung-Yong
ST: Lee Dong-Gook, Park Chu-Young
Player To Watch: Park Ji-Sung
Final Standings
1. Argentina
2. Greece
3. Nigeria
4. South Korea
No comments:
Post a Comment