World Cup capsules for England-US,SKorea-Greece and Argentina-Nigeria matches

Saturday WCup lookahead capsules

Capsules for Saturday’s matches at the World Cup (FIFA rankings in parentheses):

South Korea is in its seventh successive World Cup, while Greece has made one previous appearance, losing three games in 1994 without scoring.

South Korea: The Koreans went to the semifinals when they co-hosted the 2002 tournament, and have a star in Manchester United midfielder Park Ji-sung.

Greece: The 2004 European champions have not done much since winning that title, but a stultifying defensive style can wear down opponents.

Notable Fact: Greece center back Vangelis Moras will sit out after a groin injury, perhaps weakening the Greeks’ chances.

The Albiceleste might have the two biggest stars in the tournament: player of the year Lionel Messi and coach Diego Maradona.

Argentina: Maradona, something of a novice as a coach, is toying with starting three strikers, including the sensational Messi.

Nigeria: The Super Eagles were Africa’s best team in the 1990s, but are not so formidable now. A younger squad lost 1-0 to Argentina in the 2008 Beijing Olympics final.

Notable Fact: Messi has been a dominant player for Barcelona, but never a standout for Argentina, with 13 goals in 44 matches.

Few soccer games have gotten the amount of attention in the United States that this one has, and a U.S. upset win could provide a huge boost to the sport in America.

England: Captain Rio Ferdinand was lost to a knee injury in training, which puts more stress on veteran center back John Terry. But the key player is potent striker Wayne Rooney.

United States: This is the rare American team that can score, with creative midfielder Landon Donovan as the playmaker.

Notable Fact: The only time these nations met in the World Cup was 1950 — and the Americans won, 1-0. It’s considered one of sports’ all-time biggest upsets.