Argentina’s opponent in the World Cup finals today was South Korea, a team that had impressed in their opening victory against Greece. For this match, Maxi Rodriguez replaced Juan Veron in the Argentine midfield; the rest of the lineup was identical to the one Maradona fielded against Nigeria. Read on after the jump to see how Messi and his teammates fared in this crucial encounter.
Argentina's formation courtesy of ZonalMarking
Argentina defeated South Korea 4-1 in a brilliant attacking display with three goals from Real Madrid striker Gonzalo Higuain, and an own-goal from Korean defender Park Chu-Young. With this victory Argentina now have six points in their group and are virtually assured of progressing to the final knockout stages of the tournament.
Although Barcelona attacker Lionel Messi failed to score in the game, he was in sparkling form throughout, providing assists on two of Higuain’s three goals, and generally terrorizing the Korean defense for the duration. According to stats collected by ESPN, Messi had 166 touches, completed 89% of his passes, and created six scoring opportunities for his team.
Argentina close out the group phase of the Cup on Tuesday, June 22 when they face Greece in the afternoon match. For those of you who saw the match today, what did you make of the Argentine performance?
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