With a hat-trick from Gonzalo Higuaín, Argentina beat South Korea by 4-1 and became the first World Cup 2010 to basically secure a spot in the round of 16 (needs a tie to be sure). The Group B game between Argentina and South Korea was played in the Soccer City stadium of Johannesburg, and it was definitely one of the most exciting in terms of quality football matches of the entire World Cup until now.
Argentina (mostly) but also South Korea played a fantastic game for all fans present in Soccer City, with Diego Maradona’s team having some excellent offensive plays and overall performance on the field. The ball was going up and down for the entire match, and ended up inside the net a total of five times. Park Chu-Young scored an own goal against his national team in 16′, releasing the pressure from Argentina that could open up and play without stress. Maradona’s boys were pressing hard to score a second goal that came in 33′ with a close header from Higuaín. At literally the last minute of the first half, and after a tragic mistake Martín Demichelis, Lee Chung-Yong took the opportunity to score a goal for South Korea that was suddenly back in the game.
South Korea even missed a fantastic chance to tie the game, Yeom Ki-Hun’s shot barely missed the target with no player left but the goalkeeper. South Korea kept putting pressure on Argentina, and for 15 minutes had the ball possession and the chances. But in a counter attack from Argentina lead by Lionel Messi that hit the post, again Gonzalo Higuaín took the rebound and just pushed the ball inside the net. Three minutes later another goal from Higuaín, with yet another header, successfully completing the first hat-trick of the World Cup 2010, while sending Argentina to the second round of the competition.
