The entire stadium was also "dressed" in big-time party attire. The Argentine fans' flags hung throughout the stands and the Nigerian fans colorful attire and dance provided a true world cup feel to the highly anticipated match.
It did not take long for Argentina to settle well into match-level quality. In fact all of three minutes to generate the first clear scoring chance which in very characteristic fashion Gonzalo Higuain shot wide, alone in front of the goal. Three minutes later, Gabriel Heinze headed the ball into the net from a corner kick to give Argentina the lead. It did not take long for Argentina to settle well into match-level quality. In fact all of three minutes to generate the first clear scoring chance which in very characteristic fashion Gonzalo Higuain shot wide, alone in front of the goal. Three minutes later, Gabriel Heinze headed the ball into the net from a corner kick to give Argentina the lead.
As Diego himself had announced yesterday, there were no surprises in the line-up which jumped to the pitch. That is one of the characteristics of Diego, very consequent between what he says and what he does. As expected, though, the weakest Argentine line is the back four, and as they should continue to advance in the tournament that back line could give the Argentine people, and Diego, a real heartache.
The albicelestes continued to control the match at will after the goal with no surprises as to who the main playmakers would be. Lionel Messi was the heart of the team, with Carlos Tevez displaying his usual talent and poise. A great first half by Nigerian keeper Vincent Enyeama prevented the Argentines, especially Messi, to extend their lead, so the first half ended with that lone early goal.
The second half was almost identical to the first in that Argentina controlled at will the tempo of the match. Aside from a close-range shot by a Nigerian midfielder that missed the target by inches on the 71st minute, Nigeria did not show the determination and will needed to have a chance to beat Argentina.
In the overall game analysis it has to be very worrisome for Argentina to control a game pretty much at will and come out with only a one-goal advantage, scored by a central defender. As it has been stated many times, Higuain is not the answer up front, and Maradona has to consider making Milito the complement to Tevez and Messi. Otherwise, Argentina is not going to have enough weapons to go far in this cup, and Diego will complete his on-going fallout with the Argentine people.
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