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On paper, Nigeria and Argentina are not in the same class.
Argentina has won the World Cup twice, while Nigeria has never advanced beyond
the second round; but such is the weight of expectations on these two sides as
they head into Saturday’s Group B opener in Johannesburg.

The pressure is even more on the Argentines who come into the
game as outright favourites no thanks to the immense quality they possess in
every department of the field from a defence line marshalled by Inter Milan’s
Walter Samuel right down to a forward line boasting of the world’s best player,
Lionel Messi, and an embarrassment of other riches such as Carlos Tevez and
Diego Milito.

“People talk a lot about Messi, forgetting that there are other
very good players in the Argentine team, such as Tevez and Milito,” said
Nigerian striker Obafemi Martins. “It’s a team game and we also have our own
stars for the day.”

Left-back, Taye Taiwo also echoed the views of his team-mate.
“We know Messi is a good player and we can’t allow him to roam round the park
just like that,” he said. “But we also have our great players. They’ve got a
couple of great players and we’ve also got a couple of great players.”

Self-destructive Maradona

On paper, Argentina should be contending with the likes of
Brazil and Spain but in Diego Maradona, they have a coach who many consider as
the biggest obstacle to their quest of winning the World Cup for a third time.
It is for this singular reason that Nigerians back home will be glued in front
of their TV sets confident of the Super Eagles chances of scraping out a result
against the South Americans even though that is something that has never been
accomplished by a Nigerian side at the World Cup.

In the Super Eagles’ three previous tournament appearances, they
have met the Albiceleste on two occasions, most recently a lone goal defeat in
2002 which was preceded by a 2-1 loss eight years earlier in the United States
which marked the last of Maradona’s 91 caps for Argentina following which he
was disgraced out of the World Cup after testing positive for banned
substances. Argentina also defeated Nigeria 2-1 at the FIFA U-20 World Cup in
2005 as well as 1-0 in the final of the Olympic Games in 2008.

Nigerian domination

But it hasn’t always gone the way of the Argentines as both
sides played out a goalless draw at the 1995 FIFA Confederations Cup before
Nigeria defeated them 3-2 at the Atlanta 1996 Men’s Olympic Football Tournament
with a side captained by the legendary Nwankwo Kanu. Now 33, Kanu, if he plays
on Saturday, will be meeting the Argentines for the fourth time, the first of
which was at the 1993 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Japan where the Golden Eaglets
defeated their Argentine counterparts 4-0 before that slim loss in 2002, and he
believes the encounter at Ellis Park can go Nigeria’s way.

“Argentina have the big-name players and everyone respects
them,” Kanu told Kickoff.com. “We also acknowledge that they are good and great
players. But Argentina also have the same respect for us because they know the
quality of our team and know that there is plenty that we can come up with at
anytime. Yes, it will be tough but I believe we can overcome on the day. It is
the World Cup and things do happen.”

The fear of Lagerback

Under Lars Lagerback, the Super Eagles appear to have a newfound
confidence and don’t seem as predictable as they were under erstwhile coach
Shaibu Amodu. The Swedish strategist will be hoping to come out unscathed once
again against the Argentines after overseeing a 1-1 draw back in 2002 which
sealed Argentina’s elimination from the tournament. No wonder the Argentine
team has been working overtime at their training sessions as revealed by their
defender Gabriel Heinze.

“We’re all really good without any problems and fired up to get on the
field. We’ve been practicing at a very good level, and you’ll see it on
Saturday,” the defender who plays alongside Taiwo at French champions Marseille
told reporters in Pretoria shortly after Wednesday evening’s training session.
Nevertheless, Heinze says his teammates should beware as the Super Eagles “are
a strong and direct outfit” under Lagerback. “They are very athletic and
physically strong, and they have some quick players,” he continued, before
adding: “We know many of them from playing them in European clubs.”