Match Previews

With my accommodations all but booked, I am officially ready for South Africa! What I promised last time were some match previews. Here they are:

June 17th: Argentina/Korea - Joburg 1:30 pm
My first official World Cup game. And what a game it is. My fellow Koreans taking on the South American giants. With Korea and Argentina already having played against Greece and Nigeria respectively, I think both teams will be going into this match with a win apiece. Both teams will be looking to grab a stranglehold of the Group lead, but I think Argentina is just too strong for the South Koreans. Look for Messi to torment the South Korean defence, whether he plays on the right or down the middle. Korea will fight and fight all the way to the last whistle, though.

Argentina 3 - 1 South Korea


June 18th: Slovenia/USA - Joburg 4:00 pm
With both teams having already played a game, look for the USA to take this one very easily. They impressed me a lot during the Confederations Cup when they beat Spain and pushed Brazil as far as they would bend. Look for Landon Donovan and co. to take this one.

USA 3 - 0 Slovenia


June 20th: Ivory Coast/Brazil - Joburg 8:30pm
What a matchup. Two of the what I'd call the top ten teams in the world being matched together in the same group. It's Drogba vs. Kaka. My guess from the first match would be that Brazil demolished a poverty-stricken North Korea side, while I do believe Ivory Coast will sneak out winners vs. Portugal. Expect to see a lot of goals and a lot of open play in what I'm going to call a 6-goal thriller.

Brazil 3 - 3 Ivory Coast


June 22nd: Nigeria/Korea - Durban 8:30 pm
The last group game for the Super Eagles and Red Devils. I believe this will be a game for 2nd place in the group. I think both teams will have beaten Greece and lost to Argentina. In what could be a dramatic, thrilling encounter, I believe the Red Devils will prevail and move onto the second round. KOREA FIGHTING!

Korea 2 - 1 Nigeria

June 23rd: Slovenia/England - Port Elizabeth 4:00 pm
In what is the final group game for both teams in Group C, I believe England will have already wrapped up first place in the group off the back of wins vs. USA and Algeria, I think England may look to rest a player or two (Rooney, Lampard). With Slovenia long out of the competition, I believe they will play their hearts out to grind a result from this game.

England 1 - 1 Slovenia

June 24th: Paraguay/NZ - Polokwane 4:00 pm
This is a mismatch in every sense of the word. With most of Paraguay's players playing in the top leagues in South America and Europe, New Zealand only have a couple players plying their trade across the Atlantic, with most of their players playing in the A-League in Australia. Paraguay I think at this point will still have everything to play for, and I can't see anything but a win here for them.

Paraguay 3 - 1 New Zealand