JOHANNESBURG —
Argentina defeated Nigeria 1-0 and South Korea beat Greece 2-0 in the opening games of Group B at the World Cup in South Africa.
Gabriel Heinze scored for Argentina in the sixth minute, and Nigerian goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama frustrated the South Americans for the rest of the match in Johannesburg.
“I want to congratulate the Nigerian goalie because he made three or four important saves,” Argentina coach Diego Maradon said in a news conference. “We suffered a little bit because we failed to convert all those goals. You could have a draw any minute.” In the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in the southern city of Port Elizabeth, Lee Jung Soo and Park Ji Sung scored in South Korea’s victory.
South Korea and Argentina lead the group with three points each, with Nigeria and Greece on zero. England plays the U.S. in today’s last match, in Group C.
Argentina took control at the start, with Gonzalo Higuain wasting a pass from Lionel Messi three minutes into the match. Messi forced a save from Vincent Enyeama three minutes later, before Gabriel Heinze headed in the resulting corner kick from Juan Sebastian Veron.
While the Nigerians settled, they couldn’t do more than shoot off target. The best chance came from Chinedu Ogbuke Obasi, whose 27th-minute shot went wide after getting by goalkeeper Sergio Romero.
Maradona Paces Messi continued to trouble Enyeama, who made his third save of one of the Argentine’s curling shots in the 36th minute as Maradona paced the sidelines, shouting to his team and at the officials.
“I did a bit of good work on Messi,” Enyeama, who was named man of the match, told reporters. “It would be my best ever performance because I was playing against the best player in the world now.
Three minutes into the second half, Veron’s cross rolled past two teammates and three defenders, just going wide after Messi flicked it. Argentina continued to control possession, leaving the Nigerians to chase the ball.
Coach Lars Lagerback started to change his players early in the half with Obafemi Martins coming on in the 52nd minute and Peter Odemwingie replacing Obasi.
The game became more frantic, with both sides pushing up the field. A break by Argentina was again stopped as Enyeama stretched to block a low shot from Higuain in the 66th minute. The ball went rapidly to the other end, where Odemwingie lost control after getting ahead of the defenders.
Taye Taiwo’s shot was inches wide, having beat Romero from the top of the box in the 70th minute. He limped off and was replaced by Kalu Uche, who shot over the goal in the 82nd minute.
Thwarted Again Messi was thwarted once again by Enyeama after he broke through the defense and was left alone in front of goal in the closing minutes.
“We have won a great match and I think we are on the right path,” Maradona said.
In Port Elizabeth, Lee Jung Soo started the scoring in the seventh minute when he volleyed Ki Sung Yeung’s free kick past goalkeeper Alexandros Tzorvas.
Lee Chung Yong then had a penalty claim denied after going down in the area and Tzorvas slid out to block a shot from Park Chu Young after the striker got behind the Greece defense.
Park Ji Sung made it 2-0 seven minutes after halftime when he picked up the ball about 30 yards out, went past two defenders and lifted a shot over Tzorvas.
Theofanis Gekas missed with an overhead kick and Pantelis Kapetanos fired over from close range as Greece pushed forward. South Korea goalkeeper Jung Sung Ryong then made a one-handed save against Gekas and Tzorvas dived to stop a shot from Lee Chung Yung in the 85th minute.
Greece is making its second appearance at the World Cup and has yet to score a goal in four games in the competition.
The next round of Group B games on June 17 has South Korea facing Argentina and Greece meeting Nigeria.
—With assistance from Dan Baynes in Johannesburg. Editor: Christopher Elser.
To contact the reporter on this story: Bob Bensch in London at +44-20-7330-7947 or bbensch@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Christopher Elser at +44-20-7673-2284 or at celser@bloomberg.net
