Group B- review

Having looked at how I think Group A is going to turn out, I will look at who their potential opponents will be in the last 16. Argentina, Greece, Nigeria and South Africa make up Group B.

ARGENTINA

Argentina, despite having had a rocky qualifying campaign where progress to South Africa was only clinched with a final game win in Uruguay, will once again be one of the favourites to lift the crown in Johannesburg in 2010. And rightly so, considering the talent at the disposal of their coach, one Diego Armando Maradona. There are obvious deficiencies which he will have to contend with, mainly in the goalkeeping position and in defence. The three named goalkeepers, Sergio Romero, Diego Pozo and Mariano Andujar, have a combined 12 caps between them. That is not going to instill confidence in his defence! And now on to one of the many controversial decisions made by Maradona. Ostensibly, he will be playing four centre backs across his back four: Nicolas Otamendi, Martin Demichelis, Walter Samuel and Gabriel Heinze, if reports are to be believed. This has the advantage of having four solid defenders - Demichelis, Samuel and Heinze all fresh from winning their respective league championships, and Samuel or Demichelis will have a Champions League medal tucked in their back pocket. Otamendi is regarded as one of the most talented young defenders in Argentina, but they will definitely lose something in terms of width going forward without an Ashley Cole or Philip Lahm-type player. In midfield, there is yet more controversy! One of the players of the last World Cup, Esteban Cambiasso, has been left out of the preliminary squad altogether. This is despite a stellar season at Inter Milan which might end with a Champions League winner's medal. This despite their being a lot of inexperience, and out of form players, in the 30-man lists: Jonas Gutierrez has spent the season playing Championship football for Newcastle, Maxi Rodriguez has failed to impress at Liverpool, and Jose Sosa, Jesus Datolo, Juan Mercier, Sebastian Blanco and Javier Pastore have a handful of caps between them. But there is experience elsewhere, none more so than Juan Sebastian Veron. Now 35, he's no longer the barnstorming midfield player who woefully failed to live up to expectations at Manchester United and Chelsea. Since returning to Argentina, he has found a new lease of life as the driving force behind Estudiantes winning their first title in 23 years. He will be one of Maradona's trusted lieutenants. Javier Mascherano, as captain and focal point, is a certain starter. Eric Cantona may have derided the 'water-carrier' as a waste of a player, but would France have won the World Cup in 1998 without Didier Deschamps, Brazil in 2002 without Gilberto Silva? Mascherano will have to be equally as influential for Argentina to win their first world title in 1986. The potential wildcard, though, is highly-rated Benfica winger Angel Di Maria. Pacy, tricky, and with excellent delivery (as shown against Liverpool in the Europa League), he is a classic old fashioned winger. He has been constantly linked to the big European clubs so he will be keen to impress in South Africa. The forward line, on the other hand, needs no introduction. It was more a case of who to leave out. Lionel Messi needs no introduction - he is the best player in the world, after all. Carlos Tevez will be playing off the back of an outstanding debut season for Manchester City, which resulted in 29 goals. Sergio Aguero may have been in the shadow of Diego Forlan in the last few weeks of the season, but he is an outstanding young talent, who can play as a striker or just behind and can turn a game on his day. And he's a cert for the squad - he is Maradona's son-in-law after all! Diego Milito is a late bloomer, but has taken his chance at Inter Milan when he finally got his chance at a big club. He offers something different - he is strong, powerful, and good in the air. Almost a typical English centre-forward. But most importantly - he scores goals. Gonzalo Higuain is another wildcard. ANd yet more controversy from Maradona. Despite scoring a multitude of goals for Real Madrid, he did not receive his call-up until the final two qualifying games. He naturally scored on his debut, and should be a cert for the final squad. That means one of Maradona's so-called favourites - 36-year-old, European flop Martin Palermo, should miss out on the final cut. But if the past few years have taught us anything, it is best not to second guess Diego!

STAR PLAYER - LIONEL MESSI

He really needs no introduction. Ask Arsenal. Ask Real Madrid. Ask any of the other teams who were on the end of one of his 47 goals last season. And one of the only teams to stop him last season - Inter Milan - have two defenders who will be team-mates in South Africa. Fast, skillful, and with the ball seemingly glued to his feet at times, he is deceptively strong and could pop up anywhere. He can play anywhere across the forward line, and this can make him hard to mark. Teams have been known to change their strategy and line-up just to try and keep him quiet - this seldom works. The only thing missing from Messi's CV is a World Cup winners medal, which he will hope to rectify in South Africa.

MANAGER - DIEGO MARADONA

Mr Maradona also needsw no introduction. Simply one of the greatest - and most controversial - footballers of all time. His World Cup career ranged from the sublime to the ridiculous - sent-off in his debut tournament in 1982, almost single-handedly won the tournament in 1986, and almost did the same in 1990, and scored a cracking goal before being sent home in disgrace for failing a drugs test. His life, both during his career and post-career, has been littered by drug abuse. You only think what he could have achieved had his personal life been more stable. He is a hero in Naples, where he led Napoli to unprecedented success which they will never experience again - two Scudetto's for such a provincial club was an outstanding achievement. After his retirement in 1994, his problems increased. His cocaine abuse escalated, he once fired an air rifle at reporters he claimed were invading his privacy, released an autobiography, was named the joint-best player in football history with Pele in a FIFA poll, and started his own, late night talk show. So it was perhaps a surprise when he was named Argentina coach in 2008 with no prior coaching experience. A 6-1 defeat away to Bolivia put paid to the honeymoon period, and a campaign littered with slip-ups finally ended in vindication away against Uruguay. A late win clinched qualification, but it could all have been so different without an injury-time winner from Martin Palermo four days earlier against Peru in Buenos Aires. With qualification secured, Maradona naturally launched into a swearing tirade against the press on live television. There will be high expectations in South Africa, but it will certainly be interesting. Well the post-match press conferences will be anyway!


GREECE

The question to be asked about Greece, is - will there be a repeat of the massive upset which saw them crowned European Champions in 2004. The answer, in a word, is no. The only similarity with that triumph, is they still have the ultra experienced Otto Rehhagel at the helm. Their squad predominantly ply their trade in the average domestic league. Olympiakos and and Panathinikos rarely make an impact in European competition. Those players who do play in the big European leagues are generally out of form and/or out of favour. Sotirios Kyrgiakos will be one of the lynchpins of the normally solid Greek defence. Slow, pedestrian and with questionable positional sense, any regular watchers of Liverpool this season will know this should not instill anyone with confidence. The other key defender is Giourkos Seitaridis. One of the star's of the Euro 2004 win, it earned him a move aborad to Porto. But he settled neither there, at Dinamo Moscow or Atletico Madrid, and he is now back in Greece, which is a familiar story. In attack, things do not look any more promising. Angelos Charisteas is not the player who socred the winning goal in Euro 2004. Since that success he has never scored more than nine league goals in a season, and that was in Holland. Theo Gekas is in similar poor form. Despite scoring ten goals in qualification, he failed to impress in a loan spell at Portsmouth in 2009, and had similar struggles at Hertha Berlin last season. Both he and Charisteas suffered relegation from the Bundesliga. Hardly a fact to inspire confidence! There will be a big onus on the experienced captain Giorgios Karagounis, yet another star of the Euro 2004 win. Plenty of experience in the top European leagues, with Inter Milan and Benfica, his leadership will be crucial to their success. One of the few players in form, he formed a promising partnership with Robbie Keane for Celtic. But it is only Scotland! They will need the same solidity and togetherness which led to success six years ago to have any chance of progress. But with stalwarts like Traianos Dellas and Euro 2004 player of the tournament Theo Zagorakis no longer around, this seems a tall order.

STAR PLAYER - THEOFANIS GEKAS

His last couple of years of club football, at Bayer Leverkusen, Portsmouth, and Hertha Berlin, hardly inspire confidence in Greece's forward line. However, his ten goals in the qualification campaign do, making him top scorer in the European section. He will need to show this type of form in South Africa. He shot to prominence while on loan at Bochum in the 2006/07 season, surprisingly finishing as top scorer in the Bundesliga for a struggling team. He has not displayed the same form since, and needs to get over the diasppointment of relegation to improve Greece's chances.

MANAGER - OTTO REHHEGAL

Probably a bigger personality than his combined squad, Rehhegal is the principle reason for the Greek success in the last decade. With an extraordinarily successful coaching career in the Bundesliga prior to taking the Greece job, it was perhaps a surprise that he took the challenge. At perennial minnows Werder Bremen, he transformed them into the giants of North Germany in his 14 year spell as manager, winning two championships, a German cup and the now defunct Cup Winners Cup. His extrovert personality led to problems in his sole season at Bayern Munich. Clashes with the likes of Jurgen Klinsmann were only going to result in one winner, with Rehhegal famously ousted weeks before the 1996 UEFA Cup final. Kaiserslautern was his next port of call, where he again enjoyed unprecedented success. They recovered from relegation to win immediate promotion. But rather than consolidate on their return to the top flight, 'Slautern comfortably won the title to become the first promoted club to do so. Not a bad CV! He has really shot to prominence as Greek manager, with their Euro 2004 success one of the biggest upsets in football history. He will need to muster every ounce of grit and determination from his team to get close to a repeat of that upset.


NIGERIA

Nigeria will fancy their chances of being the most successful African side in the first African World Cup, having been handed a manageable group and with a fairly experienced pool of players at their disposal. Having missed out on Germany in 2006, the traditionally strongest African challenger will be looking to make amends. The first-choice goalkeeper, Vincent Enyeama, is a relative veteran at just 27. That might be because he made his World Cup debut against England in 20o2 at the age of just 19! In defence, there are a number of quality, experienced candidates with European experience. Joseph Yobo will captain the team, and should be fresh after an injury plagued season at Everton. He will probably be partnered with Chidi Odiah, of CSKA Moscow. At full-back, Rabiu Afolabi is a candidate for right-back, from Red Bull Salzburg. One of the undoubted stars of the team, is Taye Taiwo at left-back. In the Roberto Carlos mode going forward, he is adventurous, with great pace and crossing ability and a terrific long-range shot, he is fresh from helping Marseille to their first French championship in almost two decades, and should be full of confidence. Strength in depth is the main issue. The likes of Danny Shittu, a back-up for relegation threatened Bolton, are not up to stretch. In midfield, there is the same problem. Jon Obi Mikel has had an outstanding season at double winners Chelsea. Dickson Etuhu could be a dark horse, having helped Fulham to the Europa League final. But he is a similar type of player to Mikel, and would those two be accommodated in the same team? Those two apart, John Utaka has been a fringe player for crisis club Portsmouth, and Kalu Uche helped Almeria stay in La Liga for another year with a career best nine-goal haul. This is hardly going to have Mascherano and Messi quaking in their boots though! The final third offers more options for the experienced coach Lars Lagerback. 'Oba' and 'Yak' will probably be the chosen pair. Pace, power, and finishing ability will strike fear into any defence they come across. Martins and Yakubu should both be fresh, with the former being in and out of the team at 2009 German Champions Wolfsburg as back-up to Edin Dzeko and Grafite, and the latter having an injury plagued season at Everton. Whether this is a plus or minus remains to be seen. Victor Obinna, Peter Odemwingie and Ikechukwu Uche provide useful, if unexceptional back-up. And then, of course, who needs no introduction to those familiar with the Premier League. Nigeria will fancy their chances of equaling, if not bettering, their best performance of reaching the last 16 in 1998. With such an experienced coach at the helm, that is not beyond them.

STAR PLAYER - JOSEPH YOBO

With so much quality in attack, and the Nigerians a naturally attacking team, Yobo will be crucial to his country's success at the heart of defence. With his experience and leadership qualities, he will be the natural focal point of the team. He only made 17 leaque appearances last season, his smallest number since moving to Everton in 2002. But he is widely regarded as one of the soundest defenders in the Premier League. Quick, good in the air and with good positional sense, he is the archetypal modern defending, where pace is a must! It is still not too late to engineer a move to a massive club.

MANAGER - LARS LAGERBACK

Another Group B manager with a wealth of experience, teaching a country which he is not a native of. Promoted to joint manager of Sweden with Tommy Soderberg in 2000 having coached in the youth teams and with the senior squad for the previous decade. He led Sweden to five major championships (two with Soderberg, three individually), with mixed success. They were knocked out in the group phase in Euro 2000 and 2008, while they lost in the last 16 of the 2002 and 2006 World Cup's, and the quarter-finals in Euro 2004. When they finished third in their qualifying group for the World Cup behind Denmark and Portugal, he tendered his resignation. So it's an irony that he will be going to the World Cup, having signed a short contract with Nigeria, while his native country will not! He is a strict disciplinarian in the Scandinavian mould, and the hope is he will instill some discipline into a normally fractious group.


SOUTH KOREA

This is definitely not the team who reached the semi-final on home turf in 2002, where team spirit and determination, some questionable and generous refereeing, a large slice of luck, and of course, Guus Hiddink, contributed to this surprising over-achievement. The main plus of the current squad is the experience, which will need to be used for progress to be made. Goalkeeper Lee Woon-jae was one of the hero's of the 2002 World Cup with his penalty shoot-out save from Joaquin eliminating Spain. It didn't matter he was almost on his six-yard line when he saved it. Lee Young-pyo is another stalwart. Now 33, his experience of the Premier League (Spurs) and Serie A (Roma) will be invaluable. Cha Du-ri is a regular for Freiburg in the Bundesliga, Park Chu-young has impressed sporadically for Monaco, and Kim Nam-il is another veteran of the class of 2002, playing for Tom Tomsk in Russia. But, rather than strength in depth being the problem, it will be finding the requisite strength for the starting 11. There are two clear stars of the current side. Park Ji-Sung is the David Beckham of South Korea. The marketable face of the side, he is the stand out player of not just this generation. HIs ability is often overlooked because of his sheer tenacity, determination and drive. But if you check Sir Alex Ferguson's team-sheets for the big Manchester United games, more often than not Park's name will feature. This would not happen with a good attitude alone. Tricky with the eye for a good pass, he can play anywhere across midfield or out wide in a three man attack, and this versatility is one of his key attributes. Big things will be expected of Lee Chung-Yong. On the back of an outstanding debut season in England with Bolton Wanderers, The Times named him one of the 50 top rising stars of World football. A skillful, pacy and tricky winger, he also contributed some crucial goals to Bolton's survival efforts, and will need to be at his best if South Korea are going to progress. The majority of players perform in either South Korea or Japan, and this is likely to prove a hindrance.

STAR PLAYER - LEE CHUN-YONG

No-one expects a repeat of the amazing scenes that occurred in 2002. But if South Korea are going to come remotely close to equaling their best ever performance, it might be partly down to a young star not burdened with the expectation of having been part of that generation. Lee will be full of confidence, and eager to prove his phenomenal debut season, which saw him earn the Bolton players' player of the season award, was not a flash in the pan. He will need to be at his best. He is a typical South Korean footballer - without trying to sound too stereotypical! Small, skillful and tenacious, with great energy, all these qualities will need to come to the fore to aid what appears an inadequate squad.

MANAGER - HUH JUNG-MOO

A virtual unknown outside South Korea, his only spell in football outside his homeland was a three year spell at PSV EIndhoven as a player in the early 1980s. But he is a well known figure in South Korean football, and this is his third spell of manager as the national team, having twice been in charge in the 1990s. However, the team struggled through qualifying and he was only third choice for the job when appointed in 2007. Gerard Houllier and Mick McCarthy were both offered the job but rejected it, as is the want of Asian countries to look abroad. Guus Hiddink still looms large over South Korea as a football nation, and Huh will have a real struggle to step out of his shadow in South Africa.


PREDICTION

This group, in reality, should be a walk in the park for Argentina. They would expect to top the group to avoid a potential last 16 meeting with France. That's assuming Diego Maradona doesn't implode in some way, shape or form! I would back the sporadically talented Nigeria squad to have enough to get the better of Greece and South Korea, who I would back to bring up the rear. ANd I'm not going to suggest there will be any generous refereeing as there may have been for the Koreans in 2002 - look at the trouble that got a certain Lord Triesman into.