Hats off to Argentina Higuain's 3 goals pave way to easy win over South Korea
With Gonzalo Higuain scoring a hat trick and Lionel Messi in the thick of the action, stylish Argentina is on the brink of advancing at the World Cup.
The Albiceleste beat South Korea 4-1 on Thursday in Johannesburg as their fans outcheered the vuvuzelas, giving them 6 points off 2 victories in Group B.
Argentina is alone in first place, 3 points ahead of both South Korea and Greece with a game left in group play. The Greeks beat Nigeria 2-1 later Thursday.
"I have to congratulate the players ... everything they did worked out well," Argentina coach Diego Maradona said. "I am very happy."
In a biting wind, Maradona's team put on one of the best performances of the tournament, perhaps only challenged by Germany in its 4-0 win over Australia.
The Argentines had 11 shots on goal to just 2 for South Korea and controlled possession for 57 percent of the match.
"I wanted to have my players focused like today," said Maradona, who as a player took Argentina to a World Cup title in 1986.
The Argentines took the lead in the 17th minute when Park Chu-young deflected in a free kick from Messi. Higuain made it 2-0 in the 33rd after Nicolas Burdisso passed along a cross from Maxi Rodriguez.
In first-half injury time, Lee Chung-yong pounced on a defensive mistake to close the gap, but Higuain's 2 second-half goals - in the 76th and 80th minutes - put the game away.
Messi made a great run to set up Higuain's second goal. He had a shot blocked, got the rebound and hit the post with a second strike. The ball bounced to Higuain, who tapped it in. Four minutes later, Messi played the ball in to substitute striker Sergio Aguero, who crossed for Higuain to complete the rout.
"I'm very happy to score the goals, but we have to think of the team as a whole," said Higuain, now the tournament's leading scorer.
Early in the second half, the South Koreans made a surge and for a short time seemed poised to tie the game. In the 58th minute, Yeom Ki-hun almost scored the tying goal, but his shot went just wide of the left-hand post.
Greece 2, Nigeria 1: Greece claimed its first World Cup win, rallying to beat 10-man Nigeria in a World Cup Group B match in Bloemfontein, South Africa.
Vassilis Torosidis poked home a loose ball in the 71st minute after a mistake from Nigeria goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama to make history for Greece, which had lost all four previous World Cup matches.
Mexico 2, France 0: Substitutes Javier Hernandez and Cuauhtemoc Blanco each scored in Mexico's win over France in Polokwane, South Africa, leaving Mexico needing only a draw to reach the next round.
Hernandez, nicknamed "Chicharito (Little Green Pea)," ran onto Rafael Marquez's pass as the France defense stopped, believing Hernandez was offside. He dribbled around goalkeeper Hugo Lloris before guiding the ball home in the 64th minute.
Hernandez's grandfather, Tomas Balcazar, scored for Mexico against France in the 1954 World Cup.