If the two matches played in the World Cup so far are anything to go by, it will require more than optimism for Nigeria to get pass South Korea  in their final Group B match today to berth a place in the second round of South Africa 2010. On paper, Argentina and Nigeria  were supposed to best Greece and South Korea as leader and runner up in Group B.

Before the competition commenced, Nigerians in touch with reality had their doubts about the chances of their national team at the World cup. Everything leading up to the tournament forecasted disaster in the making.

First, edged on by dissatisfied fans, the Nigerian Football Federation sacked their erstwhile coach, Shuaibu Amodu, five months to the World Cup, appointing the Swede, Lars Lagerback to take his place. The latter has had barely three months to get to know the players and to fashion a plan for the competition.

Barely a month to the competition, it was revealed that the Nigerian Football Federation had booked a substandard hotel for their team, which upon inspection by the newly appointed coach, was declared unacceptable. The NFF had to break contract with the hotel and book a new one. FIFA fined them $125,000, as reported by allafrica.com, 3 May 2010.

Preparation for their pre-tournament matches was a shamble, with their second match against Colombia almost not holding. To cap it all, the Super Eagles, as their national team is known, got stranded for 24 hours in London, after a plane mishap. It was revealed by Kick off magazine that the particular airline had been chartered against the directive of the Nigerian sport ministry.

But beside these teething problems, it was apparent, for those who cared to see, that Nigeria would not do well at the World Cup. The team's standard of playing has, for a long time, been woeful. It scraped through the Africa Cup of Nation held in Angola in January  2010 on life support, literally and metaphorically.

If the Super Eagles did beat Mozambique three-nil, and Benin one-nil, they had begun their campaign at the Cup of Nation with a 1-3 loss to Egypt. Although the two victories at the group stage of the competition do not suggest it, these were not pretty victories. Nigeria triumphed over these two countries on the strength of her individual players not on team strength.

This was clear in the quarter final match against Zambia, where the Chipolopolo outplayed the Super Eagles but were unlucky to lose the match on penalties. In the semi final, Nigeria would lose to a young but enterprising Ghanaian side. They however managed to beat Algeria by a goal to nothing to finish third at the competition.

The sack of their then coach, Shuaibu Amodu, was a direct result of the Super Eagles' poor performance at the AFCON, belied by their third place finish. Most Nigerians felt that that standard of play at the World Cup would result in nothing but embarrassment for the country, hence the agitation for the change of the coaching crew.

The agonizing way Nigeria had qualified for the World Cup under coach Amodu (doing so only because Tunisia failed to draw their last game against Mozambique) reinforced this sentiment. It was the repeat of this qualifying perturbation at the AFCON that led to the sack of coach Amodu. Needless to say, it should have been apparent that doing so was a bad move, as Nigeria's two matches at the World Cup have shown.

Since their loss to Greece, a similar agitation for the sack of Lagerback has begun, which I discuss in my piece here. (Follow the link below).

Always optimists, immediately after their loss to Greece, Nigerian fans began permutations to see how the Eagles might still qualify for the second round of the World Cup.

Here's how they figured it: a  goal defeat for Greece against Argentina will put them on 3 points and -2. And a goal victory for Nigeria against South Korea will put them on 3 points and -1, leaving South Korea on 3 points and -2. Voila, Nigeria qualifies.

Tall dream, I say. I do not see Nigeria beating South Korea, based on the performances of the two teams so far. (I do not mind eating my words afterwards. In fact, eating my words will be a good thing, as it means that Nigeria, for once, would have played well).

The South Korea we have seen has been an organized side, never mind their 4:1 loss to Argentina. They are a more ambitious side than Nigeria. The two team's head-to-head result against Argentina does not tell the true story of the respective matches. Nigeria were lucky to come away with a single goal deficit because of the heroics of their goalkeeper, Vincent Enyeama. It could easily have been a four-nil, or five-nil loss.

Furthermore, based on their head-to-head games against Greece, South Korea were the better side, beating the former by two goals, looking good and formidable at it, while Nigeria were tentative and unengaging even when they got a lucky break-through-goal early in the match.

They would completely fall apart after being reduced to ten men, due to the send off of one of their midfielders, Sani Kaita. That Greece did not beat Nigeria by a heavier margin is because Greece, themselves, are a very week side. They should not have been able to beat Nigeria, were the latter a good team, despite their one man deficit.

Today, I expect Argentina to easily see off Greece. My prediction is on the conservative side: 2:0 in favor of Argentina. There are only two outcomes to be expected from Nigeria-South Korea match: a draw (most probably goalless), or a victory for the South Koreans. I see a one-nil victory for them, most probably two-nil, though it could be two-one if the Nigerians manage to muster something.

I will consider it a miracle if the Nigerians are able to beat South Korea. I don't see it happening, but then perhaps, the Nigerians might decide to play today. You never know.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/409591-nigeria-versus-south-korea-preview-and-prediction