Group C: Argentina Sow Seeds For 2010
1>>>ARGENTINA 7 Points. They've had the same roster chock full of superstars and come to every World Cup as favorites, yet they've tanked every time out since Maradona's 1986 champions. Unfortunately, 2006 will be more of the same. Argentina can point to this tournament as a turning point with the obvious emergence of striker Lionel Messi. As always, the flow of action and victory will have to come from the feet of midfielder Juan Roman Riquelme.
2>>>NETHERLANDS 6 pts. The Dutch come to the World Cup with the same sort of pedigree as Argentina without sprinklings of titles along the way. They also come to Germany with some nagging injuries in the back. That shouldn't stop the dangerous Ruud Van Nistelroy from depositing a few loose balls into goals in this overrated "Group of Death".
3>>>Ivory Coast 3 pts. Not buying everyone's preoccupation with the Ivory Coast or any other African squad. The group of newbies from Africa wasn't the case of upstarts but of a continent-wide depression in qualifying that left out the traditional powers. Chelsea's Didier Drogba might cause a team like the Netherlands problem because of the Dutch rash of injuries in the backfield. It won't be enough.
4>>>Serbia & Montenegro 1 pt. Sadly, by the time they kickoff on Sunday, their united country may be no more. After Montenegro announced their intention to split from Serbia, this defensive-minded team may be thinking of country over sports. Playing in the weakest European qualifying group, their impressive 10 clean sheets out of 11 games was a mirage.
Pivotal Match: Jun 21st: ARG 3-2 NED. You could argue that the Argentines beating the dark horse favorites Ivory Coast in the first game of the group sorted out the so-called "Group of Death", but the battle between these traditional rivals will crown first in the group.
Group MVP: Juan Roman Riquelme (ARG)
2>>>NETHERLANDS 6 pts. The Dutch come to the World Cup with the same sort of pedigree as Argentina without sprinklings of titles along the way. They also come to Germany with some nagging injuries in the back. That shouldn't stop the dangerous Ruud Van Nistelroy from depositing a few loose balls into goals in this overrated "Group of Death".
3>>>Ivory Coast 3 pts. Not buying everyone's preoccupation with the Ivory Coast or any other African squad. The group of newbies from Africa wasn't the case of upstarts but of a continent-wide depression in qualifying that left out the traditional powers. Chelsea's Didier Drogba might cause a team like the Netherlands problem because of the Dutch rash of injuries in the backfield. It won't be enough.
4>>>Serbia & Montenegro 1 pt. Sadly, by the time they kickoff on Sunday, their united country may be no more. After Montenegro announced their intention to split from Serbia, this defensive-minded team may be thinking of country over sports. Playing in the weakest European qualifying group, their impressive 10 clean sheets out of 11 games was a mirage.
Pivotal Match: Jun 21st: ARG 3-2 NED. You could argue that the Argentines beating the dark horse favorites Ivory Coast in the first game of the group sorted out the so-called "Group of Death", but the battle between these traditional rivals will crown first in the group.
Group MVP: Juan Roman Riquelme (ARG)
