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Argentina vs Holland
match should highlight 2006 World Cup tournament
The Argentina vs
Holland match should be the highlight of the first two
weeks of the 2006 World Cup tournament when the two
superpowers meet in Frankfurt on June 21 in a rematch of
their 1978 World Cup final, this according to Marc
Connolly of MLSnet.com. If there is a wrench to be
thrown into the mix, it'll come from Ivory Coast. The
underrated African nation hopes to pull a "Senegal" and
knock off one of these pre-tournament favorites while
riding the back of Chelsea striker Didier Drogba, who is
very familiar with most of the Dutch players.
Argentina's
odds to win the 2006 World Cup
were set early at 9.00 and remained there after the draw
at
Sports Interaction
while Holland dropped from 11.00 to 15.00.
Experienced and
battle-hardened, Argentina will be very difficult to
beat. Strong at the back, in Lionel Messi they have a
forward who could light up the tournament.
Holland coach Marco van Basten said he was looking
forward to a titanic clash with two-time World Cup
winners Argentina in the first round of the 2006 World
Cup.
'Argentina are one of the big footballing countries with
a great history and many of their players are in the
European leagues,' van Basten said.
Don't count Holland out
of this one. Van Basten has a well-drilled team
with flexible tactics, width and an attack led by Ruud
van Nistelrooy. This could be the time for Holland to
win the World Cup.
The Dutch will open their Group C account against Serbia
and Montenegro while African debutants Ivory Coast
complete what is likely to earn the tournament's 'Group
of Death' tag.
'Ivory Coast are a good African team with a lot of
well-known players. We will have to be fully focused
from the start or we will have problems,' he added.
'The world title is our aim but our team is still young
and inexperienced so perhaps this World Cup is coming
around a little too soon for us.
----
Jorge Maradona,
www.gambling911.com
Originally
published December 10, 2005 4:06 pm EST
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