Today we continue with part two of our World Cup preview with Group B of the 32-team tournament. We take a look at Lionel Messi and Argentina, Greece, Nigeria, and South Korea. This will be one of the toughest groups in South Africa. Take a look on who I predict the top two teams will move on to the 16-team second round of this tourney. Here are my predictions and let the debates begin.
1) Argentina (FIFA rank: 7th)
- Argentina will be one of the favorites to win the World Cup. It took them the last game of the qualifying tournament to qualify with a 1-0 win over Uruguay in Montevideo, where they havn't won since 1976. They will be led by coach Diego Maradona, who scored five goals and led Argentina to a WC final victory in 1986. This country hasn't won the WC since then but coach Maradona is ready to give this team the golden ball. The team will be led by forward Lionel Messi, the best player in the world in my opinion. The Barcelona forward was the 2009 player of the year and led his team to the Summer Olympic gold medal in 2008. He scored 34 of 49 his goals with Barcelona in the Spanish Primera Division (8 in the UEFA Champions League). Midfielder Javier Mascherano is the team's national team captain. Mascherano has won gold medals in the 2004 and 2008 Olympics. He's the defensive midfielder for Liverpool in the Premier League. Another striker you want to watch out for is forward Carlos Tevez. Tevez has made 50 appearances with the national team. He scored 23 of his 30 goals with Manchester City in the Premier League this season.
2) Nigeria (FIFA rank: 21st)
- Nigeria defeated Kenya 3-2 to advance in the World Cup thanks to a lost earlier in the qualifying tournament when Tunisia lost to Mozambique in their final game. The team will be led by coach led by former Sweden coach Lars Lagerback. The 61-year old coach led Sweden to knockout rounds in the WC in 2002 and 2006. He will be the team's 23rd coach since 1949. Forward Obafemi Martins has scored 16 goals in 21 international appearances. He scored six of his eight goals for Wolfsburg in the German Bundesliga. Yakubu Aiyegbeni will be the team's best striker in the tourney. Yakubu scored 16 of his 20 goals with Everton in the Premier League this season. Peter Odemwingie will be a good swingman for this team. Odemwingie scored six goal and six assists for Lille in the French Ligue 1.
3) South Korea (FIFA rank: 47th)
- South Korea finished first over Japan and Australia in the Asian zone group to advance in the World Cup. This will be their eighth appearance in the WC. They only made it out of the first round once, when they finished fourth in the WC as the co-host country with Japan. The team will be coached by Huh Jung-Moo, who became the coach in 2007. He guided the team in 1998 in the WC and said he'll step down after the tournament no matter what. Midfielder Park Ji-Sung will play in his third WC. The Manchester United Midfielder scores three goals in the Premier League. His experience will be huge for this team. Ki Sung-Yueng scored five goals for Celtic in the Scottish Premier League. His accuracy will be big for this team. Lee Chung-Yong will be a good swingman for this tourney. He plays for Bolton in the Premier League and was a member of the 2008 Olympic team.
4) Greece (FIFA rank: 13th)
- This is will be Greece's second World Cup appearance. Their last appearance was in 1994 when they were eliminated in the first round. They made it to the WC with a group that featured Israel, Switzerland, Moldova, Latvia and Luxembourg. The team will be led by 71-year old coach Otto Rehhagel, the oldest coach in the WC. This will be Otto's first WC appearance and man does he have a tough group. Theofanis Gekas scored 10 goals in the European qualifying group and will be a striker you will have to watch out for in this tourney. Georgios Samaras scored 10 of his 13 goals for Celtic in the Scottish Premier League. Georgios was eligble to play for Australia but he decided to stay.
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