World Cup: Argentina v Nigeria Preview

June 1, 2002

Argentina step into the finals as favourites to win the tournament and their strength in depth should be enough to get through this very tough group.

Gabriel Batistuta has been confirmed in attack and his finishing power ahead of the masterful Juan Veron and neat Javier Zanetti in midfield and Walter Samuel in the middle of defence plus an array of other world stars means Marcelo Bielsa’s team is an obvious contender for the title. But they may suffer from all the hype and they can be defensive and dull when the game goes against them.

At such times it is up to Veron to lead them out of problems and he has had a difficult season at Manchester United where he has struggled to adapt to the fast tempo of Premiership football.

All three of Argentina’s opponents in the group – England, Sweden and today’s opponents Nigeria – all favour such a high tempo and the South Americans could struggle unexpectedly.

Nigeria are unpredictable but have introduced new and younger players into their squad in the last three months since coach Adegboye Onigbinde was hired again.

The Africans have the size and bulk to withstand the power play of Argentina and the art of Agustin Okocha in midfield with strikers Julius Aghahowa and young Bartholomew Ogbeche fast and clever enough to find space in most defences.

If Nigeria can play to their true form it may be hard for the Argentines to stay with them but a more likely scenario is a narrow win for the South American side with Onigbinde’s side moving on to face easier opposition in Sweden and England later on.

What gives Argentina the edge is their team work which Nigeria may find hard to match. They are also starting with Ariel Ortega and Claudio Lopez as Bielsa uses the full support of a proven squad to help end Batistuta’s recent poor form. If that line-up fails to work the coach can also call on Kily and Hernan Crespo. Options like that make it hard to pick Nigeria as the winners of their first game.

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