World Cup Group B preview: Argentina v South Korea
After a mightily disappointing first round of games, Argentina and South Korea have the opportunity to show the world why the World Cup is the biggest sporting event in the world.
Argentina, many people’s favourites, put on a decent performance against Nigeria in their first game but after only winning 1-0, there is a lot of room for improvement. That improvement will have to start in defence where they looked shaky against the Nigerians.
Starting with Jonas Gutierrez at right back against Nigeria might be ok but against better opposition like South Korea could be a mistake. Nicolas Burdisso could be in-line to start at right back with Gutierrez, a winger by trade, moving into midfield replacing Juan Sebastian Veron who will definitely miss the game with a calf injury.
"It's hard to leave Seba (Veron) out but there are also risks playing him, I don't want the World Cup to end for him, I need him. He understood it was the best thing for the squad,” said Argentina manager Diego Maradona.
Up front, Argentina have no real worries, although they would have liked to score more goals against Nigeria considering the amount of possession and chances they had. Seven shots on target returned only one goal and when the starting three attacking players are Lionel Messi, Gonzalo Higuain and Carlos Tevez, you’d expect more.
If Maradona feels like he needs a change he has plenty of options available to him, starting with Inter Milan forward Diego Milito. Or if Milito doesn’t take Maradona’s fancy he can always bring in Sergio Aguero, the youngster from Atletico Madrid.
South Korea could be set to change their formation to accommodate the attacking flair of Argentina. Lee Donk-Gok should return to the starting line-up replacing Yeom Ki-Hun upfront. Park Chu-Young should adopt a deeper role with the system switching to a more defensive style.
Park Chu-yong is set to move to the wing, whilst keeper Jung Song-ryong is set to continue in goal after being a surprise pick in the first game.
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