Group B (Argentina, Greece, Nigeria, South Korea)

[certifiable]

Just needed them to win, have em in my Job's sweepstake.

I reckon Diego will be happy with any sort of win, will be on the marching powder in Johannesburg tonight, people better steer clear of him

[Exiled_red]

[BrooklynRed]

Veron was utter ****; his corner and one long ball over the top to Messi aside, he is well past it (if he ever had it). Why Cambiasso is not in this side I will never know...

[MrsB]

World Cup 2010: Super Eagles allow hopes to soar in land of so little

The national team brings optimism and a sense of patriotism to a country where most people live on less than $2 a day.

Posted by Shyamantha Asokan in Lagos, Tuesday 15 June 2010 11.51 BST The Guardian



Vincent Enyeama, right, crashes into Lionel Messi during Nigeria's 1-0 defeat to Argentina Vincent Enyeama, right, crashes into Lionel Messi during Nigeria's 1-0 defeat to Argentina. Photograph: Roberto Schmidt/AFP/Getty Images

The sun had barely risen on a typical Saturday in Lagos. Yet there was life beneath the concrete overpasses of Nigeria's megacity of some 15m people. Dozens of boys were out playing football, in any space they could find, before the unforgiving African sun got too high.

In the afternoon many headed to makeshift "viewing stations" as the Super Eagles began their World Cup. Match days turn a shack, a fridge of beer and a tiny television into a profitable business. "You have to stretch your neck to see," says Ismaeel Oba, a regular customer. Over in the city's chic districts, a small elite, who mostly work for banks or oil companies, cram into air-conditioned cocktail bars in time for kick-off.

From the top to the bottom, across striking income gaps, Nigerians love this game. It's a no-brainer that young men love football. It's just that there are so many young men in Nigeria. This is Africa's most populous country with some 150m people, over 75% of whom are said to be under 30.

It is also home to the continent's second-largest oil reserves. "Black gold" has made more than $1 trillion for the state since oil was found here more than 50 years ago, by some estimates. Sadly, corruption at the top means that the majority of Nigerians live on less than $2 a day.

Yet the national football team – nicknamed the Super Eagles -inspires patriotism in a country that gives so many so little, with many Nigerians insisting that they will reach at least the quarter-finals of the World Cup. The bookies' are less optimistic, with odds for a win at around 100-1.

One might have expected Nigerian confidence to drop after their first game last weekend, which they lost 1-0 to Argentina. Instead, the goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama has been feted for a series of excellent saves that prevented a more crushing defeat. At one sweltering viewing shack in Lagos, young men raised beers and shouted praises in Yoruba, a language spoken by the country's patchwork of ethnic groups. Cries of "Boy yen o mo play!" – "that boy knows how to play!" – sang out.

But tension is now building ahead of Thursday's game against Greece, which Nigeria must win to keep alive their chances of surviving the group stage.

Lars Lagerback, Nigeria's manager, has generated much debate since taking over in February. Pundits query the timing of his appointment, which gave him little chance to get to know his players before the tournament. "It's like a general going to battle without knowing his troops," says Nnamdi Okosieme, sports editor of Next, a Nigerian newspaper with a young and urban readership.

Lagerback has also gone into battle without the man who could have beenhis best soldier. The Chelsea midfielder Mikel John Obi, Nigeria's most famous player, dropped out of the contest just days before the opening ceremony due to a knee injury. Other big names are thin on the ground.

The 23-man squad features players from Everton, Marseille and Dynamo Kiev. None play for a homegrown team. Unfortunately, Nigeria's domestic league is a shambles that rarely retains the country's best footballers or most ardent spectators. The Lagosian boys playing soccer beneath the traffic at dawn are obsessed with the Premier League and La Liga. The radios in the cars overhead are tuned to Chelsea games. European teams have the cash to buy better players and provide better entertainment, fans say nonchalantly.

In recent years, some retired Nigerian football stars have set up free soccer academies to nurture local talent. The schools are yet to yield big results. "The academies are still young and it is too early for them to produce stars," explains Kelechi Eke, an independent agent and talent scout based in Lagos. "But they are giving good players to the under-17 team."

So, in this World Cup, Nigeria remains an outsider – Ghana and the Ivory Coast, its smaller and poorer neighbours, are stronger contenders.

Nonetheless, Nigerian optimism – sorely tested by daily life – is hard to dent. Many still hope today's team can recreate that mid-1990s heyday when they won the Africa Cup of Nations and Olympic gold. "We have a knack of not preparing but then doing well when we get there. We always get out of jail," says Okosieme. "There is a phrase here that God must be a Nigerian. It's a popular among our football fans – and our politicians."

[tommyg]

Maradona certainly a fan of the Vuvuzela's

[g.red]

Lmao

[Craig_H]

Does the Argentina anthem not have words? Not one of their players were singing along, and they're usually a fiercely patriotic bunch.

[Broner]

Veron was utter ****; his corner and one long ball over the top to Messi aside, he is well past it (if he ever had it). Why Cambiasso is not in this side I will never know...

Still can't believe he isn't even in the squad. Crazy.

[-V-]

Be thankful, there is enough defensive midfielders at this world cup we don't need anymore

[Kenneth]

Comedy OG by South Korea.

[Craig_H]

2-0 now. As expected, comfortable stuff for the Argies.

[Kenneth]

Maxi looking comfortable. He's a very good player isn't he. Nice work Rafa.

[Craig_H]

@ Demichelis

[Mattshark]

2-1, Demichelis screws up right on HT.

Not a surprise, he really isn't very good.

I'm wondering if Di Maria has paid ****V to big him up, they seem to go on about him a lot, even to the point of saying how good he was in the opener when he was the epitome of anonymous.

[Broner]

@ Demichelis

He's a disaster waiting to happen thon fella.

This has been one of the more(few) enjoyable games of the WC.

Hopefully a few more goals in it yet.