La Albiceleste, thanks to one of the best performances in this World Cup so far, beat South Korea 4-1 in the Soccer City Stadium of Johannesburg with Real Madrid striker Gonzalo Higuain scoring a hat-trick and Lionel Messi setting up three of the four goals for the Argentinians in moments of magic.
The South Koreans, after beating Greece with a speedy and determined performance in their first game, seemed to be "chasing shadows" against the stylish team of legend Diego Armando Maradona, which advanced to first place in Group B (three points ahead of South Korea and Greece).
In the other game of Group B, lucky Greece beat sloppy Nigeria 2:1 at the Free State Stadium in Mangaung/Bloemfontein, ending the Super Eagles' hopes to advance to the second stage of the Cup. Nigeria took the lead through Kali Uche's curling free-kick and things looked quite promising until the 33rd minute when 'moron' Sani Kaita was sent off with a straight red card for giving Greece's Vassilis Torosidis a horse kick in the thigh after the ball had rolled out of play.
Dimitrios Salpingidis leveled the score just before halftime. Nigeria spurned a great opportunity to take the lead in the second half but Greece dominated the most part of the second 45 minutes. Alexandros Tziolis took a shot to be blocked by Nigerian goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama. The magical Jabulani fell just short in front of Vasileios Torosidis who "poked-in" the second Greek goal in the 71st minute.
MAN OF THE MATCH: Vincent Enyeama who made numerous heroic blocks throughout the game.
... AND, VIVA MEXICO !!! ... Raymond Domenech's Les Bleus performed so miserably against a superb team of Mexico that they failed to get a single shot on target in the second half at the Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane. From the French player's body language one could read disinterest and selfishness. What a shame for the 1998 World Champions and 2006 Runners-Up.
Domenech's decision to bring in Andre-Pierre Gignac and Mathieu Valbuena in the second half - but keeping world-class striker and France's top goal striker of all time, Thierry Henry, on the bench for 90 minutes was the "Cherry on Top". The French "stars" totally lack the picture of being a 'team' in the first place.
Thumbs up for Mexican Coach Javier Aguirre who put together a sparkling Mexican 'team' mixing youngsters with experienced ones.
Javier Hernandez (the Little Pea), shortly after coming on for Efrain Juarez, did not miss his chance to show the world what he is capable of doing for Manchester United next season. And after Eric Abidal put down Pablo Barrera in the box causing a penalty kick, he opened the way for 37 year old Cuauhtemoc Blanco to be the first Mexican striker to score in three different world cups with a perfectly placed and precise shot into the lower left corner of the net.
Uruguay and Mexico are now first and second in Group A with France and South Africa being on the brink of elimination.
Day 7 of the 2010 World Cup ended with Greece earning a first-ever World Cup victory, Mexico beating France for the first time ever, and Gonzalo Higuain scoring this World Cup's first (and probably only) hat-trick.
"The first 90 minutes are the most important"
