JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Argentina play Nigeria in their opening Group B match of the World Cup finals on Saturday. Where: Ellis Park, Johannesburg Capacity: 61,000 When: Saturday June 12, 1600 local (1400 GMT) Referee: Wolfgang Stark (Germany) Teams: Likely formation, shirt numbers, age, caps, goals: Argentina (3-4-3) Nigeria (4-4-2) 22-Sergio Romero 23-6-0 1-Vincent Enyeama 27-54-0 2-Martin Demichelis 29-25-1 17-Chidi Odiah 26-26-1 13-Walter Samuel 32-54-4 5-Rabiu Afolabied 30-15-0 6-Gabriel Heinze 32-64-2 2-Joseph Yobo 29-67-3 17-Jonas Gutierrez 26-16-1 3-Taye Taiwo 25-42-4 14-Javier Mascherano 26-57-2 11-Peter Odemwingie 28-49-8 8-Juan Sebastian Veron 35-70-9 20-Dickson Etuhu 28-14-0 7-Angel Di Maria 22-8-1 15-Haruna Lukman 19-5-1 10-Lionel Messi 22-45-13 14-Sani Kaita 24-22-0 11-Carlos Tevez 26-54-9 8-Yakubu Aiyegbeni 27-50-20 9-Gonzalo Higuain 22-5-2 9-Obafemi Martins 25-34-17 Also available: 21-Mariano Andujar 26-4-0 23-Dele Aiyegnugba 26-8-0 3-Clemente Rodriguez 28-12-0 16-Austin Ejide 26-19-0 15-Nicolas Otamendi 22-7-0 22-Dele Adelaye 21-5-0 4-Nicolas Burdisso 29-29-2 21-Elderson Echiejile 22-12-0 12-Ariel Garce 30-4-0 6-Danny Shittu 29-27-0 5-Mario Bolatti 25-5-1 13-Yusuf Ayila 25-29-2 20-Maxi Rodriguez 29-36-12 4-Nwankwo Kanu 33-85-13 23-Javier Pastore 20-1-0 12-Kalu Uche 27-24-2 19-Diego Milito 30-21-4 7-John Utaka 28-44-5 16-Sergio Aguero 22-22-8 18-Victor Obinna 23-32-9 18-Martin Palermo 36-14-8 19-Chinedu Obasi 24-13-1 1-Diego Pozo 32-3-0 10-Brown Ideye 21-0-0 Trainer - Diego Maradona Lars Lagerback Injured - None None Suspended - None None Changes: * Maradona could play with three at the back to accommodate Carlos Tevez up front with Lionel Messi and Gonzalo Higuain. In that case Jonas Gutierrez would play as a right wing-back. * Nigeria coach Lars Lagerback must decide between Victor Obinna and Obafemi Martins for the second striker role alongside Yakubu Aiyegbeni. Key stats: * It will be the teams' third meeting at a World Cup. The previous two were also in the group phase, Argentina winning 2-1 in Boston in 1994 with Maradona in the team. They won 1-0 in Japan in 2002 with a goal by Gabriel Batistuta, Argentina's leading scorer in World Cups with 10. * Argentina have faced an African team in their opening match at three World Cups. They suffered one of the biggest upsets in Italy at the 1990 tournament losing 1-0 to Cameroon as defending champions. After the 2002 meeting with Nigeria, they beat Ivory Coast 2-1 in their opener at the 2006 finals. Previous meetings: 25.06.94 Boston Argentina 2 Nigeria 1 10.01.95 Riyadh Nigeria 0 Argentina 0 02.06.02 Ibaraki Argentina 1 Nigeria 0 GROUP B STANDINGS: P W D L F A PTS Argentina 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Nigeria 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 South Korea 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Greece 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Next fixtures June 12 South Korea v Greece, Port Elizabeth 1130 GMT June 17 Greece v Nigeria, Bloemfontein 1400 GMT Argentina v South Korea, Soccer City 1130 GMT June 22 Nigeria v South Korea, Durban 1830 GMT Greece v Argentina, Polokwane 1830 GMT - - - - (Compiled by Patrick Johnston; Editing by Tom Pilcher;To query or comment on this story email [email protected])
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