Joachim Löw's gamble & Germany's young talent

When the information was coming through yesterday afternoon that Joachim Löw is set to make three changes upfront in his attack against Greece in the Euro2012 quarterfinal, it took many by surprise but I said to colleagues and friends, this is what Löw needs to do to break down the Greek defence. And in the end it paid off.

Germany coach Joachim Löw surprised many with the four changes to his starting eleven. Jerome Boateng as expected returned into his right-back position for Lars Bender, but Löw changed three of his four attacking players with only Mesut Özil retaining his place. Marco Reus started for Thomas Müller on the right, André Schürrle started for Lukas Podolski on the left and Miroslav Klose upfront for Mario Gomez. The gamble would pay-off then these players would create a lot of problems for the Greek defence.

Post-match Joachim Löw said, "I had a feeling after three wins that we had to make some changes to breathe some fresh life into the team. The time was ripe to do something different."

It showed that Löw has trust on his bench players to deliver when called into action and the depth in talent that Germany currently has, then many around the world will have seen little of André Schürrle and Marco Reus except if they follow the German Bundesliga closely.

If a young talent to impress at Euro2012 from Germany was named before the tournament, then it always was about Borussia Dortmund teenager Mario Götze, but Germany these days has numerous youngsters in the team who can deliver when needed. Not only the first eleven are strong, but in theory all 23 players can spring into action when needed.

Especially Marco Reus showed last night what a talent he is as Reus has done all season at Borussia Mönchengladbach, which has earned him a dream transfer to his home town club Borussia Dortmund for over 17 Million Euros.

One can only hope that more will be seen from the highly talented German team at Euro2012...

Euro 2012: Germany overpower the Greeks!

The 2012 European Championships is now in the quarterfinals with Group B winners Germany taking on Group A runners-up Greece at the PGE Arena in Gdansk, Poland. Germany convincingly won the Group of Death with three wins, while Greece surprised everyone by making it into the knockout stages.


QUARTERFINAL #2

Germany 4-2 (1-0) Greece
Goals: 1-0 Philipp Lahm (39'), 1-1 Giorgos Samaras (55'), 2-1 Sami Khedira (61'), 3-1 Miroslav Klose (68'), 4-1 Marco Reus (74'), 4-2 Dimitris Salpingidis (89', pen)

There was a lot on tension ahead of this tie due to the Euro crisis, but Germany showed their class and potential in a 4-2 victory against the 2004 champions Greece, who surprisingly were outplayed by a very potent German attack in Gdansk, Poland.

Germany coach Joachim Löw surprised many with numerous changes to his starting eleven. Jerome Boateng as expected returned into his right-back position for Lars Bender, but Löw changed three of his four attacking players with only Mesut Özil retaining his place. Marco Reus started for Thomas Müller on the right, André Schürrle started for Lukas Podolski on the left and Miroslav Klose upfront for Mario Gomez. The gamble would pay-off then these players would create a lot of problems for the Greek defence.

Germany started the match with the intention to seal matters as early as possible, not allowing the Greeks to think about an upset. But an early Klose goal was disallowed due to an alleged offside. Germany kept possession and tried to outplay the Greeks and it worked except for scoring goals and they had to wait until the 39th minute for captain Philipp Lahm to curl one in, another of his rare but important goals in a big tournament like 2006 and 2008.

After the break Germany seemed to lose the plot a little and allowed a regrouped Greece too much space and the equalised through Giorgos Samaras off a counter-attack in the 55th minute was the result. But this didn't shock Germany as they reorganised themselves and again went out into attack and scored three goals in just 13 minutes. First it was midfielder Sami Khedira who gave the Germans their lead back in the 61st minute of a rocket under the bar, then Miroslav Klose scored his 64th international goal off a header in the 68th minute before Marco Reus got a deserving fourth in the 74th minute off a rebound.

Greece was beaten by now and they got an undeserving handball from an unintentional handball from Jerome Boateng a minute from time, which Dimitris Salpingidis would put in to reduce the deficit.

It ended 4-2 for Germany, who won their fourth match at Euro2012 and their 15 competitive match in a row which is a new world record. Their opponents will surely know the Mannschaft is ready for all opponents and the title with their coach Joachim Löw willing and able to change formations according to his plans and the opponent.

Euro2012: Löw to make changes to his Starting XI vs Greece

Germany coach Joachim Löw is set to make four changes to his starting eleven against Greece in his teams Euro2012 quarterfinal in Gdansk, Poland tonight.

While one change was expected in right-back Jerome Boateng coming back from his one match suspension against Denmark to take his place for match winning goalscorer Lars Bender, there are three other changes which Löw is set to make which he hopes will give his team the speed and quick passing to break a likely tough Greek defence.

While 34 year old Miroslav Klose will replace three goals Mario Gomez upfront to make his starting debut for Germany at the tournament, wingers Marco Reus on the right and André Schürrle on the left are set to partner Mesut Özil in attacking midfield. Thomas Müller (right) and Lukas Podolski (left) haven't had the best of tournaments, so Joachim Löw is finally using his strong bench to make necessary changes to give his attack a new look, which should bring in new elements while taking on Greece while also strengthening Özil's chances of combining with the players around him.

The Germany vs Greece match is set to kick-off at 20.45 CET in Gdanksk.


GERMANY Starting XI

Manuel Neuer; Jerome Boateng, Mats Hummel, Holger Badstuber, Philipp Lahm [C]; Bastian Schweinsteiger, Sami Khedira; Marco Reus, Mesut Özil, André Schürrle; Miroslav Klose

Euro2012: Czechs & Greeks surprise, move into QFs!

The 2012 European Championships continued for the Group A teams tonight with their third and final round group matches in the Polish cities of Wroclaw and Warsaw. Both matches were played simultaneously and they were both high voltage action and brought some surprise as the Czech Republic and Greece qualified from Group A for the quarterfinals. While Greece scored a major upset by winning 1-0 against Russia, the Czechs won by the same scoreline against the co-hosts Poland.


GROUP A

Greece 1-0 (1-0) Russia
Goals: 1-0 Giorgos Karagounis (45+2')

2004 champions Greece scored a decisive lone goal victory against the highly rated Russians to make it into the quarterfinals, while this defeat left the Russian out of the competition. Greek captain Giorgos Karagounis scored the winner in the first half injury time.

Greece made a focused start against Russia after they were caught napping in their first encounters against Poland and the Czech Republic, but after an initial burst the Russians took over but they couldn't score of their chances. When the match seemed to be heading for a draw at the end of the first half it was Giorgos Karagounis who struck for Greece past Vyacheslav Malafeev.

Russia were shocked, but regrouped in the second session and once more had more of the ball but Greece continued to have the better chances as it ended 1-0 for Greece who won their first match since the final of Euro2004, while Russia who showed so much promise could not get the goals against Poland and Greece to take them into the quarterfinals.


Czech Republic 1-0 (0-0) Poland
Goals: 1-0 Petr Jiráček (72')

The Czech Republic defeated co-hosts Poland 1-0 to advance to the quarterfinals by topping Group A, while Poland are out of the competition as the bottom team of their group. The only goal of the night came from midfielder Petr Jiráček in the second session.

The Czech Republic had the better start into the game, but heavy rains and thunder in Wroclaw like yesterday in Donetsk made play difficult, but it suited a fighting Poland more then the technically better Czech team, who got better once the rains cooled down, but Poland keeper Przemysław Tytoń denied them a few times.

After the break Poland looked tired and it seemed only a question of time when the Czech Republic would score. After wasting a few more chances it came in the 72nd minute through a strike from Petr Jiráček following a pass from Milan Baroš. The Polish had a late attempt cleared from the goalline by Michal Kadlec but it wasn't enough as they lost the match and are out of the tournament.

Euro2012: Czech Republic win, Poland hold Russia

The 2012 European Championships continued for the Group A teams tonight with their second round group matches in the Polish cities of Wroclaw and Warsaw. The Czech Republic returned into contention for a place in the last eight with a win against Greece, while co-hosts Poland held Russia to a draw. All teams in the group still have a chance to move into the knockout stages.


GROUP A

Greece 1-2 (0-2) Czech Republic
Goals: 0-1 Petr Jiráček (3'), 0-2 Václav Pilař (6'), 1-2 Theofanis Gekas (53')

The Czech Republic returned to winning ways with a 2-1 win against Greece to stay in contention for a quarterfinal spot as they made a perfect start with two goals within six minutes, but the Greeks came back into contention though it wasn't enough to earn a point.

The Czechs went ahead through a Petr Jiráček strike as early as the third minute and Václav Pilař doubled the lead in the sixth minute as it seemed they had won the match early on. The Czech's could have scored more in the first session, but it remained 2-0 at the break.

After the breather Greece came back into the match with Theofanis Gekas scoring in the 53rd minute following a rare Petr Čech mistake, but it remained 2-1 for the Czech Republic until the end.


Poland 1-1 (0-1) Russia
Goals: 0-1 Alan Dzagoev (37'), 1-1 Jakub Błaszczykowski (57')

Co-hosts Poland came back from a goal down to hold the mighty Russia to a one-all draw. Young Alan Dzagoev gave the Russians a first half lead, which was egalised by Polish captain Jakub Błaszczykowski.

Poland like in their opening match against Greece made a good start into the match, but this time around failed to score. But once the Russians got their act together they were a threat to the vulnerable Polish defence which cracked in the 37th minute when Alan Dzagoev scored his third goal of the tournament.

But Poland wasn't shocked as they tried to get back into the game with Robert Lewandowski having two good chances after restart. Then came Jakub Błaszczykowski's moment of brilliance in the 57th minute as he scored with a beautiful left-footer which beat Malafeev in the Russian goal. Both teams had their chances towards the end, but it stayed one-all until the end.

Euro2012: Poland & Greece draw, Russia win

The 2012 European Championships kicked-off tonight with the Group A matches taking place in the Polish cities of Warsaw and Wroclaw. Hosts Poland took on Greece in the opener but had to settle for a draw, while a potent Russia showed against the Czech Republic what firepower they possess and a threat they could be to the tournament favourites. Euro2012 got of to a good start!


GROUP A

Poland 1-1 (1-0) Greece
Goals: 1-0 Robert Lewandowski (17'), 1-1 Dimitris Salpingidis (51')

Hosts Poland made a perfect start into the tournament as they initially controlled proceedings and went ahead in the 17th minute through a Robert Lewandowski header of a pass from captain Jakub Błaszczykowski, both team mates at German double winners Borussia Dortmund. In the first half hour Poland looked on course for a convincing victory with especially Łukasz Piszczek and Błaszczykowski combining well on the right wing as they do in Dortmund. But thereafter Greece slowly got into the match, but where weakened when defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos received his second yellow of the day for an alleged infringement on Murawski, but replay showed the Polish player slipped and fell. At half-time things looked really good for Poland only the 1-0 lead was to slender.

But after the break things changed as Greece replaced Sotiris Ninis with Dimitris Salpingidis and it was an agile Salpingidis who equalised for the Greek in the 51st minute after the Polish defence could not clear the ball. Suddenly it looked as if Poland could lose this match and things went from bad to worse as their keeper Wojciech Szczęsny brought down Salpingidis to earn himself a red card and give Greece a 71st minute penalty. But captain Giorgos Karagounis' penalty was saved by Polish substitute keeper Przemysław Tytoń. It stayed one-all until the end.

Russia 4-1 (2-0) Czech Republic
Goals: 1-0,3-1 Alan Dzagoev (15',79'), 2-0 Roman Shirokov (24'), 2-1 Václav Pilar (52'), 4-1 Roman Pavlyuchenko (81')

Russia went into their first match against the Czech Republic knowing that they were the favourites to top Group A and they made a flying start into the competition. After allowing the Czechs to try themselves out in the first 15 minutes the Russians upped the tempo and went ahead when first a Aleksandr Kerzhakov attempt hit the post, but Alan Dzagoev was there to give Russia the lead. They they were in control and toyed with the Czechs, who conceded a second in the 24th minute when Roman Shirokov scored of a beautiful cross pass from Andrey Arshavin. Russia could have added one or two more goals but it stayed 2-0 at the break.

After the restart Russia looked arrogant as if they had won the game and this allowed the Czechs to get back into the game as Václav Pilar rounded goalkeeper Malafeev after a perfect through ball. The Czechs looked to be in with a chance to upset the Russians, but Tomas Rosický shot which Malafeev somehow kept hold off ahead of an onrushing Milan Baros kept the lead for Russia. Then came on striker Roman Pavlyuchenko, first he set-up Alan Dzagoev's second of the night in the 79th minute and then only two minutes later Pavlyuchenko sealed the match and the three points with the goal of the opening day as he beat the Czech defence. Towards the end it looked as if Russia could score more, but it stayed 4-1 on the night.

Euro2012 Groups are out

The draw for the groups for the 2012 European Championships jointly to be co-hosted by Poland and the Ukraine in June 2012 was carried out on Friday night in the Polish capital Warsaw. The 16 participating teams have been split into four groups of four teams each with the top two sides making it to the quarterfinals.

The toughest of the groups, this tournaments 'Group of Death', is certainly Group B which contains 1988 winners Netherlands, three-times former champions Germany, 1992 surprise champions Denmark and formidable Portugal led by superstar Cristiano Ronaldo.

Another group to look forward to is Group D in which co-hosts Ukraine will meet a strong Sweden, a rebuilding France and England, who are under pressure from their own fans to deliver a title at this tournament.

Defending champions Spain have a relatively weaker group, but will need to watch out when they face Italy, Ireland and Croatia. One of the most interesting encounters could be when Italy take on Ireland, who are coached by seasoned Italian Giovanni Trappatoni.

The most balanced, but also the weakest of all groups looks to be Group A in which co-hosts Poland take on 2004 champions Greece, Russia and the Czech Republic. Anyone of those four teams could advance to the knockout stage and cause an upset.


EURO2012 - GROUPS

Group A: Poland, Greece, Russia, Czech Republic

Group B: Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, Portugal

Group C: Spain, Italy, Ireland, Croatia

Group D: Ukraine, Sweden, France, England

Group B: Argentina top, South Korea move on

Argentina are somewhat through from Group B, but who would join them in the knockout stages, will it be South Korea, Greece or can Nigeria spring a surprise.

(matches to kick off simultaneously)

Nigeria 2-2 (1-1) South Korea
Goals: 1:0 Kalu Uche (12'), 1-1 Jung-Soo Lee (38'), 1-2 Chu-Young Park (49'), 2-2 Yakubu Ayegbeni (69', penalty).

In a thrilling game at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban South Korea and Nigeria played out a two-all draw which resulted in the Asians moving on into the knockout stage as Greece was beaten in the other match.

But until the end anything was possible in an open game. After some exchanges Nigeria took the lead through a Kalu Uche goal in the 12th minute. Nigeria could have doubled their lead in the 36th minute when Uche's shot hit the post, but only two minutes later South Korea equalised. Once more defender Jung-Soo Lee scored of a free kick to give the Koreans a deserving draw at half time.

After the break South Korea took the lead through another dead ball situation. Chu-Young Park's free kick in the 49th minute beat the wall and surprised keeper Vincent Enyemea who had moved a step into the middle. Nigeria seemed shocked after losing their lead, but came back strong towards the end of the game. First Yakubu Ayegbeni missed a chance to score into an empty net, but he made amends a few minutes later by scoring of a penalty. Towards the end it was an even more open game with both sides looking for the winner. Nigeria had the best chance through Obafemi Martins, but the striker put the ball wide. In the end the South Koreans would celebrate their second place in the group, which earns them a pre-quarterfinal match against Uruguay.


Greece 0-2 (0-0) Argentina
Goals: 0-1 Martin Demichelis (77'), 0-2 Martin Palermo (89').

Argentina ended their Group B campaign with a 2-0 win against Greece at the Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane. It meant Argentina have won all their three group matches, while the Greeks travel home.

Argentina coach Diego Armando Maradona left out some of his regular first eleven players to give some of the bench players playing time ahead of likelier tougher assignments in the knockout stages. Greece meanwhile new that they had to better South Korea's result to have any chance of moving on, but their defensive tactics wouldn't help in their quest.

Argentina were in control from the start with Greece having the odd chance in-between. The Greeks were able to hold the Argentinians to a goalless draw until the 77th minute when defender Martin Demichelis on his second attempt blasted the ball in. Greece was beaten and substitute Martin Palermo would be there to double the score a minute from time after Lionel Messi's attempt it blocked by the Greek keeper Alexandros Tzorvas.

World Cup 2010: Goalkeeping blunders

One of the things that the 2010 FIFA World Cup will sadly be remembered for will be the goalkeeping blunders and mistakes across the board. Some keepers have not made it to the list but remain potential candidates as the tournament progresses and some are a threat to their own teams. One never knows.

Here a list of the blunders so far

Robert Green (England) - The keeper from West Ham United committed the biggest blunder of the tournament so far. The tragedy was that Green tried to collect the ball from a weak long range effort from Clint Dempsey of the USA, but he allowed the ball to cross the line. And then Green was further humiliated by his coach Fabio Capello as he changed his keeper bringing back David James for the second game against Algeria.

Fawzi Chaouchi (Algeria) - The Algerian keeper Fawzi Chaouchi, who plays at home for ES Setif, allowed a weak shot from Slovenian captain Robert Koren to drop infront of him and then the ball move past him into the goal which sealed Slovenia's win. Chaouchi was dropped by his coach for Rais M'Bohli, who had a great game against England.

Justo Villar (Paraguay) - Justo Villar, who plays for Spanish second Division outfit Real Valladolid, had a good game against Italy, but one mistake would gift the defending champions a goal for a draw. After a corner Villar ran through under Pepe's corner with Daniele de Rossi putting the ball in from close range.

Myong-Guk Ri (North Korea) - The keeper from North Korea made a solid performance against Brazil, but was once caught off guard. In the 52nd minute Maicon overlapped and took an attempt which went into the goal between the keeper and post as the keeper had moved into a more central position expecting a cross. A small, but decisive mistake.

Alexandros Tsorvas (Greece) - The Panathinaikos Athens keeper misjudged a free kick from Nigerian midfielder Kalu Uche expecting one of the players inside the box to make contact and saw the ball fly past him into his own goal.

Vincent Enyeama (Nigeria) - Enyeama had a solid performance against Argentina and Greece, but one mistake allowed Greece to win the game. The keeper who plays for Hapoel Tel Aviv in Israel could only block a Alexandros Tziolis shot and Vassilis Torosidis is there to score of the rebound. After the game Enyeama was seen crying, not willing to accept his own mistake with team mates trying to console him.

Eiji Kawashima (Japan) - The Kawasaki Frontale keeper gifted the Netherlands their win against the Samurai Warriors. In the 53rd minute of the match Dutch midfielder Wesley Sneijder took a shot goalwards and Kawashima is flying to parry the shot, but he deflects the ball into his own net. The goalkeepers action looks weird and it seems like the ball swerves in such a way that it surprises the Japanese keeper.

Richard Kingston (Ghana) - The Ghanian keeper who was this season keeper number three or four at Wigan Athletic in the English Premier League was not able to hold on to a free kick of Australian midfielder Marco Bresciano allowing the ball to fall for Brett Holman and he hits it past the keeper. Thereafter Kingston would make an exceptional save to deny Australia victory.

Group B: Higuain wins it for Gauchos, Greece make history

Group B entered a decisive day with the winner of Argentina vs South Korea likely through while the loser in Greece vs Nigeria can plan their trip home.

(to be updated after the second game)

Greece 2-1 (1-1) Nigeria
Goals: 0-1 Kalu Uche (16'), 1-1 Dimitrios Salpingidis (44'), 2-1 Vassilis Torosidis (71').

It was a do or die match for both sides and they gave it everything they could to win this crucial tie. In the end Greece beat Nigeria 2-1 at the Free State Stadium and in the process scored their first ever World Cup goal and win.

It was a fast paced encounter, but with many mistakes on both sides. Nigeria took the lead in the 16th minute through a Kalu Uche free kick from the left which is wrongly judged by keeper Alexandros Tsorvas and with no contact flies into the Greek goal. Nigeria thereafter dictate the match, but don't get any further chances. They weaken themselves in the 33th minute after Sani Kaita hits out at Vassilis Torosidis and for this he gets a straight red card. Greece coach Otto Rehagel realises the chance and brings on Samara to strengthen his attack and thereafter Greece suddenly are the more dangerous side, but they miss numerous chances before they score in the 44th minute through a Dimitrios Salpingidis shot from outside the box.

Greece come out stronger after the break, but around the hour mark both sides go into attack looking for the winner, but Nigeria were hampered by the fact of being a man down. And Greece scored the winner in the 71st minute. Nigerian goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama could only block a Alexandros Tziolis shot and Vassilis Torosidis is there to score of the rebound. Nigeria is beaten as they thereafter look to tired with a man down to get back into the game, while Greece has chances to score more.


Argentina 4-1 (2-1) South Korea
Goals: 1-0 Chu-Young Park (16', own goal), 2-0,3-1,4-1 Gonzalo Higuain (33',76',80'), 2-1 Chung-Yong Lee (45+1').

Argentina overcame a rather weak South Korea 4-1 in their second Group B match at the Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg.

Argentina controlled the affair in the first session as South Korea couldn't play as well as against Greece as they seemed to have too much respect against their much more famed opponents. Initially Argentina played around the ball a lot, but chances were not coming their way. In the 16th minute Carlos Tevez earned them a free kick on the left close to the corner flag and the resultant Lionel Messi free kick went in off the shin of Chu-Young Park with no chance to the South Korean keeper Sung-Ryong Jung. South Korea didn't looked shocked as only a couple of minutes later a Sung-Yeong Ki shot just goes over the crossbar. But Argentina remained in charge and doubled their lead in the 33th minute when a Maxi Rodriguez free kick is headed on by Nicolas Burdisso to Gonzalo Higuain and the Real Madrid striker heads in, but the goal shouldn't have been given as he was offside. South Korea were now shocked and Argentina could have further enhanced their lead. First an Angel di Maria shot is parried away by Sung-Ryong Jung, before a brilliant Messi effort just misses the target. While everyone was ready for the break the South Koreans reduced the deficit as Martin Demichilis isn't careful on a back pass to him, Chung-Yong Lee steals the ball from him and chips it over Sergio Romero into the goal. Suddenly the Koreans were back in the game.

After the break Argentina continue were they left off, but after the first ten minutes the Koreans get back into the game. And Ki-Hun Yeon could have equalised in the 58th minute when his shot just misses the target. The game is now more open as the Koreans seem to believe that they have a chance here, but their defence would let them down. On a counter attack in the 76th minute they would concede a third. Messi combines with substitute Sergio Aguero and places the ball onto the post and Higuain scores of the rebound, but once again the Real Madrid striker scores from an offside position. The Argentinians sealed the win in the 80th minute when Aguero gets the ball to Higuain who scores his third of the afternoon. Aguero could have made it five before full time, while on the other side Korea star Ji-Sung Park tests Romero. In the end it is a deserving 4-1 win.

Group B: South Korea impress, Argentina win

In the opening day in Group B South Korea scored a convincing 2-0 win against Greece, while Argentina scored a lone goal victory against Nigeria.

(to be updated after the second game)

Argentina 1-0 (1-0) Nigeria
Goals: 1-0 Gabriel Heinze (6').

Argentina scored an unconvincing lone goal victory against Nigeria in a match which the Albiceleste could have won by a bigger margin, but the Nigerians could have also done some damage had their finishing been better.

Argentina made their intentions clear from the onset with early chances for Gonzalo Higuain and Lionel Messi, and they took an early 6th minute lead as Gabriel Heinze headed in a Juan Veron corner. But it wasn't one way traffic though Argentina was the better side on display. Nigeria had their moments as the Africans did combine well, but their shots were wayward especially Chinedu Obasi whose three good chances went wide of the goal. After around 25 minutes the Argentinians took the tempo out of the match, more intend on ball control making the Nigerians run. The world's currently best player Messi had his moments in the first half as he his two attempted shots were brilliantly cleared by the Nigerian keeper Vincent Enyeama. But the 1-0 lead for the Albiceleste is a dangerous one, then such a result just isn't enough to sleep easy.

The match made a slow start into the second half, but then Nigerian coach Lars Lagerbeck made some changes in his attack around the hour mark and Nigeria looked to get better into the game putting some pressure on the Argentinians, still their finishing was not up to the mark. On the other side with Nigeria having to do more for their attack it gave space to Argentina who had two good chances around the 65th minute first a Messi shot which went wide and then a Higuain shot which was blocked by an alert Enyeama. Nigeria had their best chance up to that point in the 70th minute when a shot from left back Taye Taiwo just about missed the goal. Towards the end it was an open game with chances on both sides. First Messi missed a sitter for Argentina, while Kalu Uche had a chance on the other side but put it once more over the Argentinian goal as did Aiyegbeni Yakubu a few minutes later. In the end Nigeria looked tired and didn't test the South Americans any more.


South Korea 2-0 (1-0) Greece
Goals: 1-0 Jung-Soo Lee (7'), 2-0 Ji-Sung Park (52').

South Korea score a convincing 2-0 opening win against Greece in Group B at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth. But the Asians will need to confirm today's performance to have a chance against Nigeria and Argentina. For Otto Rehagel's Greece sadly played old fashion football and they were punished for this.

It was a strong performance by the South Koreans in the first half against a Greece who seemed surprised by their Asian opponents. South Korea have been known as a team to run miles during matches, but now they seem capable of combing well too, but only the last pass was often missing.

The Koreans took the lead through defender Jung-Soo Lee in the 7th minute when he scored of a freekick from nearly the corner spot as Angelos Charisteas didn't mark his man. South Korea were unlucky as a couple of decisions by the referee went against them, once a penalty wasn't given, while on another occasion Ji-Sung Park was through but a foul called against him.

And Korea continued where they left off before the break. Their captain and Manchester United star Ji-Sung Park doubled the lead in the 52nd minute after a blunder from Loukas Vyntra, which enabled Park to break free on the left and score past the Greek keeper Alexandros Tzorvas. After the hour South Korea looked willing to waste less energy, but the teams also looked to slow down giving the Greeks some space and chances to combine. Greece had their best chance in the 81st minute through Bundesliga striker Theofanis Gekas, who turns and shoots goal wards, but is palmed away by the Korean keeper Sung-Ryong Jung. And in the 86th minute Korea could have added a third as Chu-Young Park once more beat Loukas Vyntra, but is blocked still Chung-Yong Lee gets a shot on target which Tzorvas can clear for a corner.