Korea Republic v Greece Argentina v Nigeria England v USA
Saturday, June 12
Korea Republic v Greece
Verdict: South Korea will hope to have star striker, Lee Dong-Gook fit for the key match against 2004 European Champions, Greece. Dong-Gook has not played for the national side since the 2-0 friendly win over Ecuador in May. Greece will miss the services of towering centre back, Moras, but recall top scorer of the European qualification phase, Fanis Gekas.
Port Elizabeth, the venue for this game, is home to many ex-pat Greeks and it is expected that atleast 7,000 of them will be in appearance in the 45,000 seater stadium. Both countries have had mediocre preparations for this World Cup campaign with Greece uncharacteristically conceding goals with regular ease while the Koreans were held scoreless against Belarus and a second string Spanish team. Ofcourse, Greece is the more physical of the two sides and with the like of Ninis, Karagounis, Gekas, and Samaras in attack, the Southern European nation has more firepower than their Asian opponents. Korea Republic has traditionally had trouble against organised European opponents, and I see it been no different here.
Verdict: Pre-tournament favorites, Argentina, will look to dismantle Nigeria with their plethora of attacking weapons in this Group B clash. Led by world footballer of the year, Lionel Messi, and an array of talent including Di Maria, Milito, Tevez, and Higuain, no one can deny the La Albiceleste their favorite tag. Nigeria were undefeated during their World Cup Qualifiers but suffered a big blow before the tournament when holding midfielder, John Obi Mikel, was ruled out through injury.
Despite Argentina struggling through the qualification phase, finishing fourth behind Brazil, Chile and Paraguay, they are a serious contender at these championships despite the shortcomings of manager, Diego Maradona. After cementing qualification, the South Americans have played a series of 6 friendlies with a narrow 2-1 defeat to Spain their only blemish. Nigeria has been less than impressive in their preparations following their 3rd place finishing at the disappointing Africa Cup of Nations. I feel that the Africans lack in a lot of aspects in their game, especially in central defence where Yobo and Shittu played minimal football for their respective English clubs last season.
Pick: Argentina -1AH @1.72 (betfair, 10 units) Argentina 1 - 0 Nigeria
England v USA
Verdict: In one of the most anticipated games of the group stages, World Cup favorite (one of) England face arguably their toughest test in Group C against the improving USA. Both sides have had their fair share of injuries and controversies in the days and months leading up to the World Cup. Former England captain, John Terry and club team mate Ashley Cole have both had their off field issues, where as fellow defender and stand in captain Rio Ferdinand, is ruled out with knee ligament damage. USA's most potent attacking weapon, Jose Altidore, missed the last warm up game with Australia after straining his ankle in training while Onyewu suffered a patellar tendon rupture last October.
Despite winning their last three friendly matches (against Egypt, Mexico, and Japan) in the lead up to the tournament, England have been far from impressive. In what is i'm sure a headache to their Italian manager, Fabio Capello, the Three Lions are not keeping clean sheets and are not dominating games the way they he would like them to. As they showed against Egypt, Spain and Brazil in last year's Confederations Cup, the USA is an emerging football power. More recent wins (friendlies) against Turkey and Australia suggest the Stars and Stripes are primed and ready for their best World Cup yet. One thing both teams have in common is their good striking power and some what suspect defence. With players such as Rooney, Crouch, Gerrard, Lampard, Altidore, Buddle, Donovan, and Dempsey getting into forward positions, I think we are likely to see a few goals here.
Picks: USA +1 AH @2.05 (betinternet, 5 units) England 1 - 1 USA Over 2.25 goals @1.83 (sbobet, 7 units) England 1 - 1 USA
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