World Cupdate

Group B action started off today with Argentina at South Korea, and the Taeguk Warriors ran into a buzzsaw named Gonzalo Higuain as his hat trick(!) and an own goal off a free kick ravaged the Reds 4-1.  The only bright spot in South Korea's day was Chung-Yong Lee's solid goal at the end of the first half making it 2-1, but the other 89 minutes belonged to the Albiceleste and 88 of those to Higuain as he savaged South Korea's 1-3-2-4 setup like a tank cannon through plywood.  An absolutely commanding performance by El Pipita, and frankly the entire Higuain clan has to be pleased.  Argentina next faces Greece, and they have to be feeling good about their chances to run the full nine.

Group B's other match saw Greece and Nigeria facing off, both teams playing for survival.  A loss here meant elmination, a draw would keep both teams alive.  The Pirate Ship tried to cut through with a 3-3-4 plan led by Theofanis Gekas, but the Super Eagles countered with Yakubu and Peter Odemwingie fronting a 2-4-4 attack and scored almost right off with a free kick from Uche at 16' and a nasty header fake from Odemwingie.  Nigeria played their plan well, dominating the middle third and leaving Gekas hanging out to dry time and again until the Piratikos caught a massive break when a really pointless red card was pulled on Nigeria's Sani Kaita for a shove-kick combo, and suddenly Greece was back in the match with Nigeria a man down.  That directly led to Dimitrios Salpigidis scoring Greece's first ever World Cup goal at 44' as even Mount Olympus smiled down.  The second half saw Nigeria go 1-4-4 and an injury to defender Taiwo left them at nine men at one point.  Both teams fought well, looking for and needing the win, but it was the Greeks who prevailed as Vassillis Torosidis knocked one home at 71'.  They will survive another day, but the Super Eagles are basically done as Greece surprises 2-1.

France and Mexico rounded out the day back to Group A as both teams needed the win to keep up with Uruguay after their dismantling of host South Africa yesterday.  The Bafana Bafana were hoping for another draw as Les Bleus went 1-3-2-4 with Nicolas Anelka at point, while El Tri opened 3-3-4 with Francos, Dos Santos and the dangerous Carlos Vela up front.  An offensive show by both sides in the first half didn't result in much, but Vela pulled up with a lame hamstring and went out at 32' for Pablo Barerra.  Nobody could keep the ball down, which suited the keepers just fine.  France dominated on corner kicks and that pressure kept up in the second half, leading to a number of fouls and more than a few yellow cards as both teams got frustrated, but it was Hernandez off the Marquez assist at 64' that broke the game open for El Tri. The Gauls then blew their cool again with a terrible trip in the box by Eric Abidal on Blanco, and he made France pay at 79'.  The 2-0 loss means France has to sit back and watch along with the Bafana as Mexico and Uruguay decide their fates.