Uruguay - Team Profile World Cup 2010

Appearances at finals:
1994 - First round

Overall record at finals: Played 3, Won 0, Drawn 0, Lost 3.

Best performance: Reaching the group stage in 1994.

Most appearances at finals: Ioannis Kalitzakis (1994), Savvas Kofidis (1994), Nikos Nioplias (1994), Nikos Machlas (1994) - 3.

Most goals at finals: Greece have yet to score a World Cup goal.

World Cup high: Beating Ukraine away in their play-off second leg to seal their place at the 2010 World Cup.

World Cup low: Failing to score a single goal during their solitary appearance at the finals in 1994.

World Cup legend: None of the 1994 squad did anything to earn legendary status, but Theofanis Gekas contributed half their goals in qualification for South Africa and topped the UEFA scoring charts.

The story so far: Greece qualified for the 1994 World Cup by topping their qualification group ahead of Russia, and much was expected at their first ever finals. However, their debut ended in unmitigated disaster after they lost 4-0 to Argentina, 4-0 to Bulgaria and 2-0 to Nigeria, exiting without a point or even a goal scored.

Coach Alketas Panagoulias opted to stick with the same players who booked Greece's place at the World Cup rather than search out new talent, and he gave every member of the squad, including the three goalkeepers, a game at the tournament.

Qualification: Despite the exploits of star striker Theofanis Gekas, the top scorer in UEFA qualifying with 10 goals, Greece made hard work of a modest World Cup 2010 qualification group that included Israel, Switzerland, Moldova, Latvia and Luxembourg.

After losing home and away to group winners Switzerland, the Greeks were consigned to a play-off with Group Six runners-up Ukraine. Manager Otto Rehhagel stuck to the negative tactics that won Euro 2004 and, following a 0-0 draw in Athens, it looked like the Greeks were going out. But in Donetsk, Dimitrios Salpigidis scored a goal on the counter-attack and that was enough to send Greece to their second World Cup finals.

Qualifying record: P10, W6, D2, L2, F20, A10, Pts20.

Most appearances: Theofanis Gekas and Sotirios Kyrgiakos (11).

Top goalscorer: Theofanis Gekas (10). [via]

South Korea - Team Profile World Cup 2010

Appearances at finals:
1954 - First round
1986 - First round
1990 - First round
1994 - First round
1998 - First round
2002 - Fourth place
2006 - First round

Overall record at finals: Played 24, Won 4, Drawn 7, Lost 13.

Best performance: Fourth in 2002.

Most appearances at finals: Hong Myung-Bo (1990, 1994, 1998, 2002) - 16.

Most goals at finals: Ahn Jung-Hwan (2002, 2006) - 3.

World Cup high: Ahn Jung-Hwan's golden goal against Italy in the last 16 was the highlight of South Korea's fairytale run to the semi-finals on home soil in 2002.

World Cup low: South Korea's historic finals appearance in 1954 was over before it got going, with heavy losses to Hungary (9-0) and Turkey (7-0) sending them packing.

World Cup legend: Hong Myung-Bo played in four consecutive tournaments from 1990 to 2002, captaining the side in their World Cup on home soil and being named the third best player of that tournament.

The story so far: The South Koreans are the powerhouses of Asia when it comes to World Cups, having qualified for the past six tournaments leading into 2010, and seven in total. Qualifying for Switzerland 1954 was in itself was a solid achievement, but their campaign was ultimately unsuccessful.

South Korea struggled in all of their subsequent appearances until 2002 when the nation co-hosted the finals with Japan. Guus Hiddink worked his managerial magic as they progressed through the group stage by beating Poland and Portugal before eliminating Italy with a golden goal and then Spain on penalties in an unlikely march to the semi-finals.

Qualification: South Korea qualified comfortably through the tougher of two final groups in the Asian zone, confirming their status as a true heavyweight of the confederation alongside emerging Japan and new arrivals Australia. Having come through the previous group with neighbours North Korea undefeated, they remained unbeaten through the final round, beating traditional qualifiers Saudi Arabia away and conceding just four goals in eight games. Coach Huh Jung-Moo will be the first local to guide the team to the finals since 1998.

Qualifying record (final group stage): P8, W4, D4, L0, F12, A4, Pts16.

Most appearances: Lee Chung-Yong, Lee Keun-Ho, Kim Dong-Jin, Ki Sung-Yeung, Park Ji-Sung (7).

Top goalscorer: Lee Keun-Ho, Park Ji-Sung (3). [via]

Nigeria - Team Profile World Cup 2010

Appearances at finals:
1994 - Second round
1998 - Second round
2002 - First round

Overall record at finals: Played 11, Won 4, Drawn 1, Lost 6.

Best performance: Second round in 1994 and 1998.

Most apearances at finals: Jay-Jay Okocha (1994, 1998, 2002) - 10.

Most goals at finals: Emmanuel Amuneke (1994), Daniel Amokachi (1994) - 2.

World Cup high: Beating Spain 3-2 at the 1998 finals. Mutiu Adepoju equalised after Fernando Hierro gave Spain the lead, but Raúl put Javier Clemente's side back in front. However, a resilient Nigeria performance was rewarded with goals from Garba Lawal and Sunday Oliseh as they sealed a famous win.

World Cup low: Being destroyed 4-1 by Denmark in the second round of the 1998 finals. After the impressive result against Spain, the 'Super Eagles' were taught a cruel lesson in the first knockout round by the 1992 European Championship winners, with a Tijani Babangida goal the only consolation.

World Cup legend: Jay-Jay "so good they named him twice" Okocha, who burst onto the international scene as a fresh-faced 20-year-old at the 1994 World Cup finals. Of Nigeria's 11 World Cup games, Okocha missed just one - their first ever - and entertained crowds in the USA, France and Japan/South Korea, captaining the side at the 2002 finals. Okocha dazzled, with his natural flair shining through on the big stage as he helped take Nigeria to the second round in both 1994 and 1998.

The story so far: Before qualifying for their first finals in 1994, Nigeria had come desperately close to qualifying on a number of occasions, including final-stage defeats to Morocco in 1970 qualifying, Tunisia in Egypt in 1978, Algeria in 1982 and fierce rivals Cameroon in 1990. But, in 1994, they made their World Cup bow and impressed, winning their group with wins against Bulgaria and Greece, and a narrow defeat to Argentina. If reaching the second round in their debut finals wasn't impressive enough, the 'Super Eagles' were two minutes away from reaching the quarter-finals as they led 1-0 against Italy, but an equaliser from Roberto Baggio and then an extra-time winner from the forward knocked them out. The 1998 finals saw Nigeria's most famous World Cup result, after the 'Super Eagles' twice came from behind to beat Spain 3-2 in their opening fixture. A win against Bulgaria and defeat to Paraguay followed but Nigeria won the group. However, their finals campaign ended in bitter disappointment after they exited at the hands of Denmark in the second round, crashing out 4-1. In 2002, Nigeria were drawn in a tricky group with Argentina, England and Sweden. After a tight 1-0 loss to Argentina, Nigeria were 1-0 up against Sweden but ended up losing 2-1 before a spirited 0-0 draw in searing heat against Sven-Göran Eriksson's side left them with a solitary point at the bottom of the group. Nigeria missed out on a fourth consecutive finals appearance in 2006 after finishing second in qualifying to Angola.

Qualification: Nigeria left it late to narrowly scrape through to their fourth finals, though many were surprised at how they laboured after advancing from the opening qualifying round with a 100% record. South Africa, Sierra Leone and Equatorial Guinea were beaten home and away as the 'Super Eagles' cruised through.

In the final qualifying round, Nigeria remained unbeaten, but draws against rivals Tunisia - home and away - and Mozambique looked to have ended their World Cup 2010 dreams. However, a dramatic 93rd-minute winner from Victor Obinna in their penultimate game against Mozambique kept their slim hopes alive and, when group leaders Tunisia suffered a shock loss to Mozambique in the final match, Nigeria came from behind to beat Kenya 3-2 in Nairobi to qualify against the odds.

Qualifying record (second round): P6, W6, D0, L0, F11, A1, Pts18.

Qualifying record (third round): P6, W3, D3, L0, F9, A4, Pts12. Most appearances: Ikechukwu Uche, Peter Odemwingie, Vincent Enyeama (10). Top goalscorer: Ikechukwu Uche (4). [via]

Argentina - Team Profile World Cup 2010

Appearances at finals
1930 - Runners-up
1934 - First round
1958 - First round
1962 - First round
1966 - Quarter-finals
1974 - Second group stage
1978 - Winners
1982 - Second group stage
1986 - Winners
1990 - Runners-up
1994 - Second round
1998 - Quarter-finals
2002 - First round
2006 - Quarter-finals

Overall record at finals: Played 65, Won 33, Drawn 13, Lost 19.

Best performance: Winners in 1978 and 1986.

Most appearances at finals: Diego Maradona (1982, 1986, 1990, 1994) - 21.

Most goals at finals: Gabriel Batistuta (1994, 1998, 2002) - 9.

World Cup high: Diego Maradona scoring a thrilling solo goal against England in the quarter-finals at the Mexico 86 World Cup.

World Cup low: Losing 6-1 against Czechoslovakia in Sweden 58.

World Cup legend: Diego Maradona. He scored five goals and was the indisputable star of the Mexico 86 tournament.

The story so far: In 1930, Argentina reached the first World Cup final, which ended in a victory for Uruguay, the tournament hosts. The Argentine national team have also topped the football world twice. In 1978, playing at home, the squad coached by Cesar Menotti and led by Mario Kempes defeated Holland in extra-time to clinch their first World Cup.

Eight years later, Diego Maradona played at his absolute peak and took Carlos Bilardo's team to the title in Mexico after defeating Germany in the final. Argentina also reached the final in 1990, when Germany avenged their loss at Aztec Stadium four years earlier and defeated Argentina 1-0 in Rome.

Argentina have failed to qualify only once, after being defeated in the qualifiers in 1970. They have refused to participate in three other World Cups for political reasons but since 1974 they have played in every World Cup, and they have been eliminated in the first round only once, in 2002.

Qualification: The road to South Africa was filled with pitfalls for the two-time champions. Argentina only qualified following the very last game of the tournament, after defeating Uruguay 1-0 in Montevideo, where they had not won since 1976. After their defeat against Chile in the tenth game, coach Alfio Basile quit and Diego Maradona took over.

Under his watch, the team failed to meet expectations and they were pummelled 6-1 by Bolivia in La Paz. However, history weighed heavier in the last two games, and victories against Peru and Uruguay were enough to reach the World Cup. Many people in Argentina dream about repeating the epic 1986 campaign in which the team made it to the World Cup after a turbulent qualifying campaign and went on to become world champions.

Qualifying record: P18, W8, D4, L6, F23, A20, Pts28.

Most appearances: Lionel Messi (18).

Top goalscorers: Sergio Agüero, Lionel Messi, Juan Román Riquelme (4). [via]