Praise poured in for Martin Demichelis following Argentina’s 2-0 Group B victory over Greece at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa on Tuesday evening. The Bayern defender opened the scoring after 77 minutes of the match at Peter Mokaba stadium in Polokwane to set his side on their way to victory. It was an impressive response from the 29-year-old after his error allowed Korea Republic to score in the South Americans’ 4-1 victory in their previous game. Demichelis’ initial header from a corner struck team-mate Diego Milito, but the FCB man crashed the loose ball into the roof of the Greek net to break the deadlock. Martin Palermo sealed a fully merited victory with the second goal a minute from time.
Argentina thus continued their impressive start to the global tournament. Diego Maradona’s men finished their group campaign with maximum points from three games and now meet Mexico in the last sixteen. Otto Rehhagel’s Greece side finished third in the section and are out of the competition. In Tuesday’s parallel fixture, Korea and Nigeria drew 2-2. The Koreans progress to the Round of 16 and a meeting with Uruguay.
Ribéry and Co pack bags for home
Sorry France, World Cup runners-up in 2006, are out of the 2010 finals in South Africa after a disastrous group stage campaign. Les Bleus’ appalling form continued in a 2-1 defeat to the host nation on Tuesday afternoon, leaving the French stranded at the bottom of Group A with just a single goal and a point to show for their efforts. Despite the win, South Africa are also out of the finals. Mexico lost 1-0 to group winners Uruguay (7) but finished second in the section with abetter goal difference than the hosts.
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