Johannesburg — Nigeria open their 2010 FIFA World Cup Group B campaign against the might of Argentina at Ellis Park in Johannesburg on Saturday.
Super Eagles fans are always expectant that their side will go far at major finals, but perhaps this year that expectation is tempered a little by the knowledge that this group of players does not have the strength and depth of squads in years gone by.
The lack of a playmaker in the Jay-Jay Okocha mould is what will be most troubling Nigeria coach Lars Lagerback, and the side have looked unconvincing in 2010, starting at the Nations Cup in Angola.
They did finish third in that tournament, but have since lost key midfielder John Mikel Obi to injury, a real body blow for Lagerback, while the indifferent form of his big-name European-based players such as Aiyegbeni Yakubu and Joseph Yobo will also be giving the coach sleepless nights.
Argentina have arguably the best forward line in the World Cup with Lionel Messi, Carloz Tevez, Sergio Agüero, Diego Milito, Martin Palermo and Gonzalo Higuaín all vying to start.
All are world-class performers and all will cause the Nigerian defence huge problems, though the pre-match talk has centred around World Player of the Year Messi.
"Messi is a good player and we respect him. We hope he respects us too. We're not thinking about Messi, we're thinking about playing Argentina, a good team," Yakubu says.
The teams might in fact know each other rather well. The two nations played one another in the final of the 2008 Beijing Olympics and a total of 10 players featured in the game that the South Americans ultimately won 1-0 – Sergio Romero, Angel Di Maria, Javier Mascherano, Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero, Dele Adeleye, Sani Kaita, Peter Odemwingie, Chinedu Ogbuke and Victor Obinna.
Argentina coach Diego Maradona hopes that his star-studded forward line can overcome the physicality of the Super Eagles and capitalise on what he sees as their weak point.
"Nigeria is a physically strong side capable of creating problems in attack. However, I think they are still a little disorganised in defence. That's where we have to make the most of our potential," Maradona says.
Defeat would not be a disaster for Nigeria, who will feel they can take points off Greece and South Korea, the other two teams in their pool, but a heavy defeat might well lead to a loss of confidence.
The converse is that any points gained would be a massive boost and perhaps set them on the right path for the second round.
