Group B of the

2010 FIFA World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...

began on 12 June and ended on 22 June 2010. The group consisted of

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

and

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

. It was the third time that Argentina and Nigeria had been drawn together in the same World Cup group, after

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson ...

(when Greece were also in the same group) and 2002. Argentina had also been paired with South Korea in

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 **Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal enter ...

. Argentina won all three of their matches, conceding just one goal, and progressed as group winners. South Korea joined them in the knockout stage by virtue of their victory over Greece in the opening match and a draw with Nigeria in the last. That point was the only one Nigeria won, having also lost to Greece in their second match.

Standings

advanced to play

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

(runners-up of

Group A Group A is a set of motorsport regulations administered by the FIA covering production derived vehicles intended for competition, usually in touring car racing and rallying. In contrast to the short-lived Group B and Group C, Group A vehicles ...

) in the

round of 16 A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

. *

advanced to play

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

(winners of

) in the

Matches

''All times local (

UTC+2 UTC+02:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of +02:00. In ISO 8601, the associated time would be written as 2020-11-08T23:41:45+02:00. This time is used in: As standard time (year-round) ''Principal cities: Cairo, Pretoria, Cape ...

)''

South Korea vs Greece

In the seventh minute, Ki Sung-yong's free kick near the left corner was inadvertently flicked on by

Kostas Katsouranis Kostas Katsouranis ( el, Κώστας Κατσουράνης; born 21 June 1979) is a Greek former international footballer. A versatile midfielder, who won the Super League Greek Footballer of the Year Award in 2005 and 2013, as well as the C ...

, before Lee Jung-soo rushed to the back post to open the scoring. The Koreans' lead was doubled through captain

Park Ji-sung Park Ji-sung (; ; born 30 March 1981) is a South Korean former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Born in the South Korean capital Seoul, Park is the most successful Asian player in football history, having won 19 trophies in ...

, who tackled

Loukas Vyntra Loukas Vyntra ( el, Λουκάς Βύντρα; born 5 February 1981) is a Greek former professional footballer. Mainly a central defender, he could also play as a right back, left back, or a defensive midfielder. Early life Vyntra was born Luk ...

and sprinted all the way to fire a low shot into the corner of the net as they kept their 2–0 win until the final whistle.

Argentina vs Nigeria

On six minutes, an unmarked

Gabriel Heinze Gabriel Iván Heinze (; born 19 April 1978) is an Argentine football coach and former player who is currently the manager of Newell's Old Boys. As a player, he operated as a defender, either as a left-back or a centre-back. Nicknamed ''Gringo'' ...

dived forward to head home

Juan Sebastián Verón Juan Sebastián Verón (; born 9 March 1975) is an Argentine former professional footballer and current chairman of Estudiantes de La Plata, where he had served as Director of Sports. A former midfielder, Verón's career started in Estudiantes, c ...

's corner kick and put Argentina 1–0 up.

Lionel Messi Lionel Andrés Messi (; born 24 June 1987), also known as Leo Messi, is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Paris Saint-Germain and captains the Argentina national team. Widely regarded as one of the ...

had numerous chances for Argentina following that, but on each occasion, Nigerian goalkeeper

Vincent Enyeama Vincent Enyeama (born 29 August 1982) is a Nigerian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Despite his below-average height for a goalkeeper, he is popularly regarded as one of the greatest African goalkeepers of all time a ...

was able to keep the margin down to one. Enyeama's saves earned him the man of the match award. Post-match, Argentina coach

Diego Maradona Diego Armando Maradona (; 30 October 196025 November 2020) was an Argentine professional football player and manager. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, he was one of the two joint winners of the F ...

said he was confident his side would perform well in the future.

Argentina vs South Korea

Argentina took the lead when

's free kick from the left was turned into the Korean goal by Korean player Park Chu-young. A free kick was awarded on the left, and Messi's cross was headed in by

Gonzalo Higuaín Gonzalo Gerardo Higuaín (; born 10 December 1987) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a striker. Nicknamed ''El Pipita'' or ''Pipa'', Higuaín was a prolific striker, known for his eye for goal, strong physique, and o ...

. In first half injury time, Korea cut the deficit when

Lee Chung-yong Lee Chung-yong (; ; born 2 July 1988) is a South Korean footballer who plays as a winger for K League 1 club Ulsan Hyundai and is a South Korean international. He is nicknamed "Blue Dragon", which is a literal translation of his given name ...

tackled

Martín Demichelis Martín Gastón Demichelis (; born 20 December 1980) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played usually as a centre-back, although he could also operate as a defensive midfielder. He is the current head coach of River Plate. Dem ...

to score. Two goals from Argentina in the second half sealed a 4–1 win. Messi's shot was first saved by goalkeeper

Jung Sung-ryong Jung Sung-ryong (; ; born 4 January 1985) is a South Korean professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Kawasaki Frontale. Early life Jung was born in Seongnam, Gyeonggi, and grew up in Gwangju. Jung began playing football when his ...

; his second shot hit the post before Higuaín shot the ball into an unguarded net. Higuaín completed his hat-trick by heading in a cross from substitute

Sergio Agüero Sergio Leonel Agüero del Castillo (born 2 June 1988), also known as Kun Agüero, is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a striker. He is considered one of the best strikers of his generation and one of the greatest play ...

FIFA World Cup 2010 Argentina South Korea3

Greece vs Nigeria

Nigeria vs South Korea

Greece vs Argentina

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Group B

Group B Group B was a set of regulations for grand touring (GT) vehicles used in sports car racing and rallying introduced in 1982 by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Although permitted to enter a GT class of the World Sportscar ...

Group A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic ide ...

South Korea at the 2010 FIFA World Cup Greece at the 2010 FIFA World Cup