^Either way, ours was really disjointed. I don't remember an opening ceremony for 2006.
It also looked like nobody had bothered with directing the tv broadcast - the cameras were never were the action was, and G_d only knows what the fuck it was all about... cost us 20 million to do, apparently, which makes me wonder.
Today:
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South Korea vs Greece
The perennial Asian champions take on surprise Euro2004 winners Greece in today's opening match in the Friendly City of Port Elizabeth on the Cape south coast.
Co-hosts of the 2002 World Cup, SK benefited from some questionable refereeing decisions (Spain will remember) to reach the semi-finals as rank-outsiders before being seen off in no-nonsense fashion by the Germans. Since then several players have made their marks in top club sides around the world. However, with a few surprising losses in recent times to Zambia, China and Belarus, there has been a mixed bag of fortunes for the side.
They stunned Portugal in the Euro 2004 final, having stunned the hosts in a group match two weeks prior to that and several other teams along the way, but have largely failed to impress since. Many of their big guns have made names for themselves in the upper tier of professional football and these guys will need to be on song from the word go to outfox the fast-paced Korean attack. The Greeks outplayed Ukraine in the playoff to qualify for the tournament, already worrying since they were arguably in the weakest pool in the Euro qualifying zone, and will have their work cut out for them in Group B with Korea, Argentina and Nigeria alongside them. PErhaps the only real thing to look forward to is that none of the other three sides is really on song at the moment.
Prediction: I'll offer 2-0 to Korea.
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Nigeria vs Argentina
La albiceleste take on the Super Eagles in the second match today at the home of SA Rugby, Ellis Park in Johannesburg
Nigeria are the perennial African hope for international footballing glory, and expectations are no less high this time around. However the golden generation of Nigerian football has since passed with players like Jay Jay Okocha, Daniel Amokachi, Julius Agahowa and Sunday Oliseh long since retired and other elder statesmen like Kanu somewhat past their prime. Gone are the days when each player was a household name in all the top leagues, and other African nations - Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana and Cameroon - are more likely to win honours at present.
2 words - Lionel Messi.
Player for player, Argentina would tear a new one into practically any team on the planet at present. But, as any football fan knows, simply having an abundance of talent at your disposal is no guarantee of success if you can't get them to work together as a productive unit. Add a combative and flamboyant personality to the mix in the from of one Diego Maradona and you'll either see the most unbelievable display ever in the history of ever, or the most disjointed jumble you're ever likely to set eyes upon.
In the case of Argentina it has been the latter in recent times. Practically any player with an Argentine passport and a pulse played in the qualifying campaign and Maradona does not seem to quite manage to get cohesion from his squad. In his case, sometimes too much choice is a bad thing. With his top guns Higuain, Messi, Tevez and Milito banging in scores of goals each, how do you justify leaving one of them out?
If they can get Messi to work, Argentina will romp to victory. The key is realising when Messi is not working or being marked out of the game and changing tack (Ronaldo for Brazil in the '98 final, anyone?). With a clutch of top targetmen in attendance, scoring goals should be the least of Maradona's worries but if he can't get service to them it is over.
Prediction: It's a tough sell, but I think Argentina will figure it out. Having the squad together for the last two weeks must have helped to generate some cohesion.
Argentina 3-0 Nigeria
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JakeLucas did a great synopsis for England-USA yesterday. I will call England 3-1 USA.
Happy watching, everyone.

I know what I'm doing for the rest of the day
-d-