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Group B: Greece vs Korea Republic
12 June 2010 5:00:00 PM ISTNelson Mandela Bay, Port ElizabethReferee: Michael Hester (New Zealand)
Group B seems to be much more of an open group than others. Argentina are expected to take top spot but the runners-up spot is a toss up between South Korea, Greece and Nigeria. On paper South Korea seem to be the strongest side and almost held Spain to a stalemate if not for a Jesus Navas wonderstrike. The winners of this match will go a long way toward making it out of this group as Argentina and Nigeria clash later in the day.
Trending
Kyrgiakos
Probable Line Up {4-3-3} Tzorvas, Seitaridis, Kyrgiakos, Papadopoulous, Torosidis, Katsouranis, Ninis, Karagounis, Samaras, Gekas, Salpingidis
Otto Rehgahl has worked wonders with this team in the past. Surprise winners of Euro 2004, Greece have shown themselves to be anything but pushovers.
Theofanis Gekas scored no less than 10 goals in qualification and if he can carry on from where he left off, Greece might well stun some of the bigger names on the grandest of arenas. However Greece have not won a single game, gained a single point, or scored a single goal previously in a World Cup final.
Greece struggled for qualification and had to beat Ukraine in the playoffs to secure their place. With their recent losses to Paraguay and Senegal, luck seems to have run out for the European Nation.
Park Ji Sung
Probable Line Up {4-4-2}: Jae Woon, Young Pyo, Cho Yong-Hyung, Jung-Soo, Cha Du-Ri, Lee Chung-Yong, Ki Sung-Yung, Kim Jung-Woo, Park Ji-Sung, Park Chu-Young, Yeom Ki-Hun
The former semi-finalists enter the Finals in a rich vein of form having defeated Ivory Coast, Japan and Equador. They were impressive in their narrow 1-0 loss to Spain which was achieved without their talisman, Manchester United midfielder Park Ji-Sung. The team has a good blend of youth and experience with quite a few players plying their trade in the European leagues. The nation is counting on the creative talents of Park Chu-Young who had an excellent season with AS Monaco. Qualification for the Finals was achieved in emphatic fashion with 2 games remaining and they were in fact undefeated. Perhaps stating the obvious but it will be a major disappointment for South Korea if they fail to make it out of their group.
FORM GUIDE
June 3: Spain 1-0 South Korea
May 30: South Korea 0-1 Belarus
May 24: Japan 0-2 South Korea
May 16: South Korea 2-0 Ecuador
March 3: Ivory Coast 0-2 South Korea
June 2: Greece 0-2 Paraguay
May 25: Greece 2-2 North Korea
March 3: Greece 0-2 Senegal
November 18: Ukraine 0-1 Greece
November 14: Greece 0-0 Ukraine Prediction: Greece have flapped and floundered their way into the world cup finals however they look anything but a capable side. Their recent friendly losses combined with their ageing squad sees them on an early ticket back home. South Korea, despite their previous narrow loss will be quietly confident of defeating the Europeans. A disappointing first round exit in 2006 will be made up for if they manage to do well in this year’s edition.
Predicted scoreline: Greece 1-3 South Korea
Editor’s note: Predict your score lines and participate in our World Cup Prediction game .
