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Match Preview: Argentina v South Korea | Thursday, June 17 at 12:30 GMT at Soccer City Stadium, Johannesburg
The clash between Argentina and South Korea is the first of the tournament where two teams that picked up wins square off. Argentina was less than impressive in their opening 1-0 win over Nigeria, but South Korea took the tournament by storm as they picked up a convincing 2-0 win over Greece. Ji-Sung Park has already staked his claim as one of the better performers of the tournament, but Lionel Messi now has a point to prove after disappearing in the first match.
Argentina Player to Watch: Angel di Maria
di Maria was one of the few bright spots for a disappointing Argentina side against Nigeria. His width and pace was a spark for Diego Maradona’s side, and with Diego Milito and/or Gonzalo Higuain lurking in the box he should be able to whip crosses in and find a striker. The Benfica youngster is allegedly on the verge of a move to Real Madrid, and nothing would delight Jose Mourinho more than to see di Maria perform well on the biggest stage.
South Korea Player to Watch: Ji-Sung Park
Many football pundits feel that Ji-Sung Park has been the standout performer in this tournament thus far, and that’s nothing but good news for South Korea. The Asian country has a realistic shot at advancing from this group, but if they’re going to do that they’ll need their best player to perform well. Park did exactly that against Greece, capping it off with an excellent goal to show off his new-found finishing ability. It’ll much far more difficult against Argentina, but Park has been in big game situations many times before for Manchester United.
Prediction
Now that the opening match jitters are out of the way, I fully expect Argentina to assert themselves on this tournament. From the beginning I picked Diego Maradona’s youthful and talented side to win the whole thing, and after getting three points against a stingy Nigeria side I’m standing by that pick. Argentina will win this one, 2-0.
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