- An Argentine supporter cheers before the start of the World Cup match against South Korea © AFP Roberto Schmidtns:
JOHANNESBURG (AFP) – 1330 GMT: The victory has raised expectations in Argentina.
“This triumph gives Argentina hope they can at least reach the quarter-finals,” says Fernando Niembro, an analyst with Argentina’s Telefé TV
“The introduction of Aguerro was decisive,” he adds.!
1320 GMT: Former Chelsea midfielder Andy Townsend is full of praise for Maradona.
“He (Maradona) deserves a lot of credit for this victory,” said the ITV pundit.
“Not many managers would have replaced Tezvez with (Aguerro) another forward, but it really paid off,” he said.
90+2 mins: FULL TIME! Argentina 4 South Korea 1
Maradona walks onto the pitch and hugs Di Maria and Rodriguez. The players seem to have a lot of affection for their coach.
90 mins: There will be two minute of injury time
-89 mins: Maradona will savour this win after his war of words with Pele
– 86 mins: Argentina are in cruise control and knock the ball around for the best past of two minutes. Its too easy for them.
-82 mins: There is a loud toot on the vuvuzuelas as Higuain is replaced by Mario Balotti. It’s been a great match for Higuain who is now the top scorer in this competition
– 81 mins: Maradona is looking very pleased with his decision to bring on his son-in-law Aguerro, it has really paid off!
80 mins: GOAL! Argentina 4 South Korea 1
Game Over! Hat-trick for Higuain as Aguero chips the ball back across the box for the Real Madrid marksman to nod the ball past the keeper.
– 76 mins: GOAL! Argentina 3 South Korea 1
75 mins: Argentina make their second change and Atletico Madrid’s Sergio Aguerro replaces Carlos Tevez
74 mins: YELLOW CARD! Heinze is booked for a deliberate hand-ball.
68 mins: The streets of Buenos Aires are empty, with evveryone watching the football
“People are in bars and in some parks hundreds of people are watching the game on big screens,” says my colleague Oscar Laski.
“When Argentina scored in the first half, you could hear the sound of vuvuzelas nearby and horns beeping from the few cars, mostly taxis, that are still driving around the capital,” he adds.”.
65 mins: That was so close! Just like in the first half, Messi drifts a free-kick over the South Korean defence but Gabriel Heinze just fails to reach the ball…
62 mins: South Korea are starting to look like the side that defeated Greece, and they are enjoying a lot more possession
– 58 mins: Gasps from the Argentine fans as South Korea nearly draw level! Lee Chung-yong races clear of Demichellis and rolls the ball towards Yeom Ki-hun who blasts his ball into the side-netting. That was close!
–55 mins: YELLOW CARD! Javier Mascherano is booked for a crunching tackle.
– 54 mins: YELLOW CARD! Gutierrez is booked for throwing the ball away, it means the Newcastle winger will miss the final group game against Greece
– 52 mins: Excellent play by Argentina! Di Maria ghosts free of his marker and knocks the ball back for Higuian who looks on in disbelief as the Korean keeper makes a point-blank save!
– 49 mins: There is a real snap to Argentina at the start of this half. What did Maradona say to them?
47 mins: A quick counter-attack presents Messi with the first chance of the second half…Higuain charges down the right wing before releasing Messi but his shot is blocked for a corner
– 46 mins: South Korea get the second half under way after making one change, with Kim Nam-Il replacing Ki Sung-Yeung
– 1228 GMT: Argentina have been entirely dominant but now its time for Maradona to earn his corn with a motivational speech to his players!
– 1220 GMT: Maradona tries to gee-up his players as they trudge off the pitch, but that goal could be a real sucker punch.
– 45+1 mins: HALF TIME – Argentina 2 South Korea 1
– 45 +1 mins: GOAL! Argentina 2 South Korea 1
Totally against the run of play, Korea’s Lee Chung Young disposses Demichelis and slips the ball past a shocked Sergio Romero. Where did that come from?
45 mins: There will be a minute of added time
– 41 mins: On reflection, the second save by the Korean keeper was one for the cameras: he should really have caught tha ball instead of punching it out!
-40 mins: Great double save by the Korean keeper!
Higuain collects a loose ball and breezes down the right wing before unleashing a fierce shot that is punched away by Jung Sung-Ryong…the ball falls to Di Maria who shot is tipped
– 36 mins: Argentina enjoy a nice period of possession without really threatening the Korean defence.
34 mins: Apart from one long-range effort, South Korea have struggled to do anything in this match. Their heads have fallen and they look a bit shell-shocked at the moment.
– 31 mins: GOAL! Argentina 2 South Korea 0
Maradona delightfully pumps the air as Korea fail to deal with a cross and Higuain nods the ball past the keeper.
– 28 mins: Messi wins a free-kick after he is flattened by Cho Yong-hyung. The ball is rolled towards Carlos Tevez whose shot whistles inches over the crossbar.
– 23 mins: Argentina are forced to make their first substitution as Inter Milan’s centre-half Walter Samuel has pulled up clutching his hamstring.
Maradona sends on the muscular Nicolas Burdisso  as his replacement.
– 20 mins: Argentina nearly double their lead as Messi chips a free-kick behind the onrushing Korean defenders into the path of Martin Demichellis.
– 19 mins: South Korea are quickly stung into action, and almost immediately after the restart Ki Sung-yong runs at the Argentine defence and hits a shot just over the bar
– 18 mins: For all the talk of Argentina’s attacking options, their two goals in this tournament have come from set-pieces.
– 17 mins: GOAL! Argentina 1 South Korea 0
Confusion in the heart of the Korean defence as Park Chu-Young misjudges a free-kick and turns the ball into his own net.
– 12 mins: The Koreans are finding it hard to settle into the match and have yet to trouble the Argentina goalie.
– 10 mins: YELLOW CARD! The referee books Yeom Ki-Hun after the Korean rugby-tackles Messi
– 8 mins: Wild shot from Gonzalo Higuain! The Korean defence is concentrating on Tevez and Messi and Higuain finds himself with plenty of space on the edge of the area, but blazes the ball over the bar.
– 5 mins: Benfica winger Angel Di Maria has the first shot of the match as he races onto Carlos Tevez’s through ball, but blasts his shot wide.
3 mins: South Korea decide not to man-mark Messi, that could prove costly.
1 min: Bright start by Argentina who quickly win a corner as they force South Korea onto  the back-foot
1130 GMT: AND WE’RE OFF! Argentina, wearing their traditional blue and white strip, get the game started against the Koreans who are in red.
1129 GMT: Argentine fans in their blue and white vastly outnumber the South Korean fans inside Soccer City on a nippy afternoon,” my colleague Robert Smith tells me.
“The Korean fans unfurled a massive national flag on one side of the ground as the national anthems were being played before kick-off,” he adds.
1125 GMT: Maradona looks visibly moved during the Argentina national anthem.
1124 GMT: The South Korean coach replaces Cha Du-ri with Oh Beom-seok as he tries to counteract the threat posed by Argentina’s forwards.
1121 GMT: The Argentina coach makes one major change to his starting line-up, with Liverpool’s Maxi Rodriguez replacing veteran midfielder Juan Veron.
The change was expected as Maradona said he didn’t want the 35-year-old Veron to aggravate a calf injury.
Surprisingly, the coach keeps faith with Newcastle’s Jonas G
JOHANNESBURG (AFP) – 1114 GMT: And here are the starting line-ups:
Argentina: Sergio Romero, Martin Demichelis, Walter Samuel, Gabriel Heinze, Jonas Gutierrez, Javier Mascherano, Maxi Rodriguez, Angel Di Maria, Lionel Messi, Carlos Tevez, Gonzalo Higuain.
Coach: Diego Maradona
South Korea: Jung Sung-ryong, Oh Beom-seok, Lee Young-pyo, Cho Yong-hyung, Lee Jung-soo, Kim Jung-woo, Ki Sung-yong, Park Ji-sung, Lee Chung-yong, Park Chu-young, Yeom Ki-hun.
Coach: Huh Jung-Moo
Referee: Frank De Bleeckere (Belgium)
WELCOME TO THE THE SOCCER CITY STADIUM for our live World Cup text commentary as Argentina take on their unbeaten Group B rivals South Korea.
The two-time champions Argentina could become the first team to reach the knockout stages of the World Cup if they defeat South Korea in a top-of-the-table Group B clash.
A win for the South Americans coached by Diego Maradona would virtually guarantee them a spot in the second round if Greece and Nigeria draw later in Bloemfontein.
Similarly, South Korea will advance if they defeat ‘The Albiceleste’ and  Nigeria are held by Greece.
Expect fireworks as there is no love lost between the two coaches who were on-field opponents 24 years ago when the Argentines defeated South Korea 3-1 in the only other World Cup match.
Kick-off is coming up soon so stay with us for all the action!
JOHANNESBURG (AFP) – 1114 GMT: And here are the starting line-ups:
Argentina: Sergio Romero, Martin Demichelis, Walter Samuel, Gabriel Heinze, Jonas Gutierrez, Javier Mascherano, Maxi Rodriguez, Angel Di Maria, Lionel Messi, Carlos Tevez, Gonzalo Higuain.
Coach: Diego Maradona
South Korea: Jung Sung-ryong, Oh Beom-seok, Lee Young-pyo, Cho Yong-hyung, Lee Jung-soo, Kim Jung-woo, Ki Sung-yong, Park Ji-sung, Lee Chung-yong, Park Chu-young, Yeom Ki-hun.
Coach: Huh Jung-Moo
Referee: Frank De Bleeckere (Belgium)
WELCOME TO THE THE SOCCER CITY STADIUM for our live World Cup text commentary as Argentina take on their unbeaten Group B rivals South Korea.
The two-time champions Argentina could become the first team to reach the knockout stages of the World Cup if they defeat South Korea in a top-of-the-table Group B clash.
A win for the South Americans coached by Diego Maradona would virtually guarantee them a spot in the second round if Greece and Nigeria draw later in Bloemfontein.
Similarly, South Korea will advance if they defeat ‘The Albiceleste’ and  Nigeria are held by Greece.
Expect fireworks as there is no love lost between the two coaches who were on-field opponents 24 years ago when the Argentines defeated South Korea 3-1 in the only other World Cup match.
Kick-off is coming up soon so stay with us for all the action!
