 | ||
Group B of the 2010 FIFA World Cup began on 12 June and ended on 22 June 2010. The group consisted of Argentina, Nigeria, South Korea and Greece.
Contents
In the 1986 World Cup, Argentina and South Korea were in the same Group A; Argentina won 3–1. In the 1994 World Cup, three of these teams (Argentina, Nigeria, and Greece) were in the same Group D along with Bulgaria. Nigeria, Argentina and Bulgaria qualified for the second round, where Nigeria and Argentina lost their next matches to Italy (2–1) and Romania (3–2), respectively, with Bulgaria reaching the semi-finals. In the 2002 World Cup, Argentina and Nigeria were both drawn into Group F; Argentina won 1–0, a result that was repeated in 2010.
As group winners, Argentina advanced to face Mexico, the Group A runners-up, while South Korea, who finished as group runners-up, faced Uruguay, who won Group A.
Overall
All times local (UTC+02)
South Korea vs Greece
Korea took the lead after seven minutes, with Ki Sung-yong's free kick near the corner flag being inadvertently flicked on by Kostas Katsouranis, before an onrushing Lee Jung-soo shot in the ball. Korea extended their lead through captain Park Ji-Sung who tackled Loukas Vyntra and sprinted all the way to score. Korea held on to win 2-0.
Argentina vs Nigeria
On six minutes, an unmarked Gabriel Heinze dived forward to head Juan Sebastián Véron's corner kick. Argentine Lionel Messi had numerous chances following that, but on each occasion Nigerian goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama was able to keep the margin down to one. Enyeama's saves earned him the man of the match award. Post-match, Argentine coach Diego Maradona said he was confident his side would perform well in the future.