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Argentina

It is their array of talent and their history that makes them likely to go through rather than the chaos behind the scenes. Only in the final, must-win qualification game in Uruguay did they show the discipline expected of traditional Argentine sides. However, no team managed by a man who has won the World Cup and containing players of the ability of Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero, Carlos Tevez and Angel di Maria can be written off at any stage of this tournament.

Results & Fixtures Team Analysis

South Korea

They are likely to go though with Argentina because they are the polar opposites of Maradona's team - disciplined, organised, led by an experienced long-term manager and who strolled through their qualification group without losing a game. This is South Korea's seventh successive World Cup; the kind of record neither Greece nor Nigeria possess. However, only on home soil in 2002 did they progress past the first round and their manager, Huh Jung-moo is no Guus Hiddink , the man who took them to the semi-finals eight years ago.

Results & Fixtures Team Analysis

The Outsiders

Nigeria

On raw talent alone, they would seem likelier to go through than South Korea, but this is a team that staggered through qualification, was generally unimpressive in the Africa Cup of Nations and sacked their manager Shaibu Amodu four months before the tournament opens. Amodu may have seen it coming because he has led Nigeria four times and has never taken them to a World Cup finals. He was fired just before the 2002 tournament, where the Super Eagles turned in a dismal, low-flying performance that could be repeated here.

Results & Fixtures Team Analysis

Greece

The one certainty is that Greece will perform better in this World Cup than they did in their only other appearance in the tournament when they lost every game and failed to score so much as a goal. Their style of play is likely to be the same as saw them win Euro 2004 in Portugal and beat the Ukraine in the play-offs for South Africa - keep it tight and snatch a goal. This they are capable of doing. The trouble is that Greece have no plan B if the opposition score first.

Results & Fixtures Team Analysis

Star Players

Lionel Messi (ARG/Barcelona) They call him La Pulga "The Flea" because of his size but he can still sting. However, the 22-year-old World Player of the Year has never performed for Barcelona with the same panache he has for Barcelona. This could be his time to shine.

Park Ji-Sung (KOR/Manchester United) Tough, fast and powerful, Park is not your average Korean footballer and crucially he has experience of both Champions League finals and Korea's runs to the World Cup semis under Guus Hiddink.

Obafemi Martins (NGA/Wolfsburg) Brilliant but mercurial. It was his goal late in the game that overcame Kenya in Nairobi and ensured that Nigeria would qualify. He has not been a regular performer for his current club, Wolfsburg but he remains a wonderful impact player.

Dimitris Salpigidis (GRE/Panathinaikos) If Greece are to win through they will have to take the rare chances that fall their way. The coolness with which Salpigidis seized on Georgios Samaras' pass to score the only goal in the play-off with Ukraine was the perfect example of how to do it.

Angel di Maria (ARG/Benfica) Maradona expects the 21-year-old winger to become one of the stars of the tournament. He has dazzled for Benfica and it would be no surprise to see him start next season at one of Europe's big clubs.

Park Chu-young (KOR/Monaco) Probably the most intelligent footballer in South Africa – he boasts an IQ of 150. Park is slightly-built and sometimes lacks a killer instinct but this season he has been scoring brilliant goals against the biggest teams in Le Championnat.