Twice world champions Argentina, who suffered an early exit in Korea/Japan World Cup four years ago, crushed might-be dark horse Cote d'Ivoire 2-1 in their Group C duel at the 2006 tournament in Hamburg on Saturday.

The Group C is widely recognized as Group of Death which also includes the Netherlands and Serbia and Montenegro.

Argentine coach Jose Pekerman said after the match that although Cote d'Ivoire was World Cup debutant, it was a tough opponent indeed.

"I was very glad and it was very important that Heman Crespo scored and put us in 1-0 lead," Pekerman noted.

And Javier Saviola and Juan Riquelme played their role in the match, which guaranteed the victory, he added.

Thanks to world class strikers Crespo and Javier Saviola, Argentina enjoyed a 2-0 lead in the first half.

Riquelme provided the cross from a free-kick and when the Africans failed to deal with it and clear their lines, Crespo was on hand to stab the loose ball home past goalkeeper Jean-Jacques Tizie.

It was a payback for a powerful header by defender Roberto Ayala in the penalty ten minutes ago, which flew overpast the goalline but denied by Tizie in his second attempt. The referees did not catch the scene.

Argentina doubled their advantage in the 38th minute when Riquelme picked out Saviola with a great pass and the striker produced a beautiful finish to steer the ball past Tizie.

Saviola, the talented striker of Spanish first division side Sevilla, was awarded the best player of the match after the game.

Cote d'Ivoire also played quite well and created many scoring chances. However, the debutants failed to convert any of them in the first half.

Just before Saviola's goal, Cote d'Ivoire midfieler Kader Keitaalmost scored an equalizer with a goalmouth header. Mysteriously, Argentine goalkeeper Roberto Abbondanzieri clinched the ball with his legs.

Cote d'Vioire's French coach Henri Michel said after the match," I am disappointed at the result. We had chances to tie the score but did not catch them."

Michel said that his team is unexperienced and the players did not deal with the ball in right way all the time.

"Our opponents are more experienced than us in reading the match. And they have many talented players." Michel said.

"World Cup games are quite different from those friendlies or league games, and the Argentines did better than us today." he added.

Both teams played brilliant attacking football and won the applause and respect from the fans. The Africans even gained the upper hand before conceding the first goal.

Pekerman said, "Our defense was well organized and players did well in carrying out the tactics. I must say we did a good job in defense today. And I appreciate that."

The South Americans began to control the pace of the game in the second half with the 2-0 lead. In the 58th minute, Riquelme blasted a free kick from the right, which was just an inch wide from the left post.

Drogba, the Africans' star striker who played for English premier league champion Chelsea, played more aggressively in the second half but was tackled down many times.

Cote d'Ivoire forward Bakary Kone who substituted midfielder Kanga Akale in the second half got a clear scoring chance in the penalty on 72 minutes but his right-foot shot flew over the pole.

Two minutes later, Drogba squandered another chance in the penalty area when his tip shot just missed the goal.

However, the Chelsea prolific striker proved his value in the 82nd minute when he beat two Argentine defenders around him and poked in a cross in the box.

Only three minutes later, the South Americans almost widened the lead to 3-1 when Maxi Rodriguez rushed into the area and beat the goalkeeper who loosed the ball. But the goal was denied as offside.

The injury time saw flash and skilful attacks from both sides and the Argentines smiled to the end.

"We made many mistakes in the match. I hope my players will not lose confidence. Now we have to concentrate on our next match against the Netherlands." Michel said.

(Xinhua News Agency June 11, 2006)