Nigeria vs South Korea - Preview

Nigeria
v
South Korea


Group B, 18:30 GMT, June 22, 2010
Durban Stadium, Durban, South Africa

Team Stat Comparison

	Nigeria	South Korea
Matches Played	2	2
Table Position	4	2
Points	0	3
Goal Difference	-2	-1
Goals for *	0.0	1.0
Goals against *	0.0	4.0
Last 5	L-L	L-W
Last 5 home		W
Last 5 away	L-L	L
*  Goals per match - home matches for home club and away matches for away club
Stats: Nigeria | South Korea

Competition Stats

	Nigeria	South Korea
Goals	Kalu Uche 1	Park Ji-Sung 1
Assists	Kalu Uche 0
Yellows	Chinedu Ogbuke 1	Lee Chung-Yong 1
Reds	Sani Kaita 1
Squads: Nigeria | South Korea

Group Table

RK	TEAM	P	W	D	L	GS	GA	GD	Pts
1	Argentina	2	2	0	0	5	1	4	6
2	South Korea	2	1	0	1	3	4	-1	3
3	Greece	2	1	0	1	2	3	-1	3
4	Nigeria	2	0	0	2	1	3	-2	0

Top two teams qualify for the Second Round

South Korea player to watch: Yeom Ki-Hun. One of South Korea's most dangerous outlets, Kim has proved to be effective as either a left-winger in a 4-4-2 formation or as the left-sided forward in an attacking trio alongside Park Ji-Sung and Park Chu-Young. A tricky player with bags of pace, he will be asked to test the inexperienced Nigeria right-back Samuel Inkoom.

Nigeria player to watch: Vincent Enyeama. Nigeria's star at the 2010 finals so far, he has been instrumental in keeping the Super Eagles' defeats respectable, with FIFA naming him man of the match for his displays against both Argentina and Greece. A mistake against the Greeks was overshadowed by numerous other saves and he has displayed consistent catching and shot-stopping ability - as a certain Lionel Messi will testify.

Key Battle: Dickson Etuhu v Kim Jung-Woo. With Sani Kaita suspended, there will be more responsibility for Nigeria's tough-tackling defensive midfielder Etuhu. He struggled to do the job of two men after Kaita was sent-off against Greece but his athleticism and physicality was impressive against Argentina and he will be charged with stifling Park Ji-Sung and playmaker Kim. A busy central midfielder with a very effective pressing game, Kim has the ability to pick a telling pass and comparisons with Paul Scholes are heightened because of his tendency to be booked for rash challenges.

Trivia: On the day after giving up four goals to Argentina, South Korea goalkeeper Jung Sung-Ryong had some good news: his wife giving birth to their new baby boy.

Stats: South Korea has failed to advance from the group stage six times, the third-highest total in World Cup history. The only teams not to advance as often as South Korea are Scotland (8) and Mexico (7).

Odds: Nigeria (3.75), South Korea (2.60), the draw (3.25) are all on offer atBet365, while Nigeria to lead at half-time but South Korea to win is at 34.00.

Prediction: South Korea were embarrassed by a hugely talented Argentina side, but proved against Greece that they are capable of winning against a side of lesser quality. Nigeria have flattered to deceive so far and it should be the continent of Asia and not Africa that will have a representative advance to the second round.

South Korea 2-0.