Gonzalo Higuaín scored the first hat-trick of the 2010 World Cup as Argentina overcame a protracted second-half wobble to secure a comfortable win over South Korea on Thursday. After scoring twice from set-pieces before the interval, the first of them an own goal, Diego Maradona's side notched their first goals from open play as Higuaín scored his second and third from moves inspired by Lionel Messi and Sergio Agüero, a substitute for Carlos Tevez.
On another freezing day under a cloudless Johannesburg sky Maradona replaced Juan Sebastián Verón, nursing a calf injury, with Maxi Rodríguez, reverting to a straightforward 4-3-3 with Messi, Tevez and Higuaín interchanging across the front line.
Effective set-pieces are becoming the unexpected hallmark of Maradona's Argentina. After enjoying untroubled possession in the early stages against curiously tepid and unadventurous opposition, they took the lead in the 16th minute after Angel di María had been fouled by Oh Beom-seok on the left, level with the edge of the South Korean area. Messi took the kick, which brushed off the head of Martín Demichelis and struck the right leg of the unsighted Park Chu-young just below the knee, skimming into the net past the helpless Jung Sung-ryong.
Sixteen minutes later, another foul in the left corner – this time on Tevez, by the combination of Kim Jung-woo and Oh – led to the second goal. Rodríguez tapped the ball to Messi and looped round to take the return before clipping in a diagonal cross that Nicolás Burdisso, a 23rd-minute replacement for Walter Samuel, glanced on to Higuaín, who headed in at the far post.
A minute before half-time Messi came close to producing exactly the goal his fans have been anticipating when, from inside a thicket of six defenders around the D, he chipped a delightful shot that floated just wide of the right-hand post.
The South Americans' virtually unbroken dominance was rudely interrupted, however, in first-half stoppage time, when Lee Cheung-Yong stole in to rob the dilatory Demichelis on the edge of the area and flipped the ball neatly over Sergio Romero. In the third quarter of the match the South Koreans' confidence grew along with their sense of adventure and Yeom Ki-hun should have equalised just before the hour, after Lee Chung-yong put him through with a fine pass. As Argentina defended with increasingly furrowed brows Jonás Gutiérrez picked up a yellow card that will cost him an appearance in Argentina's final group match, against Greece.
Aguero sparkles
But then came the substitution of Agüero for Tevez and immediately the Atlético Madrid forward's pass to Messi, provoked a jinking run which led to a first shot hitting Jung's left foot and the follow-up effort deflecting off the near post to Higuaín. The Real Madrid centre-forward then completed his hat-trick with a far-post header from Agüero's cross, the move again set up by Messi.
© Guardian News and Media 2010
