Argentina batter South Korea into submission

Argentina laid down a marker for the rest of the world as they crushed South Korea 4-1 and produced the best team performance of the World Cup so far on Thursday afternoon. Striker Gonzalo Higuain found the net three times in the match to become the first man to score a hat-trick at the finals since 2002.

Despite being written off after a weak qualifying campaign, Maradona's Argentina side showed panache, trickery and a streetsmart attitude as they swept aside their Group B opponents. Although puppetmaster Juan Sebastian Veron was absent, his role was ably filled by Maxi Rodriguez - known to fans of Liverpool as a winger. And he pulled the strings in central midfield.

Although the South Koreans made a bright start they shot themselves in the foot by handing Argentina their first goal on a plate after 17 minutes. Park Chu-young was the culprit - heading the ball into his own net.

That got things rolling for the Albicelestes and Argentina's oft-maligned frontman Gonzalo Higuain showed world class instinct and guile to stay onside before picking out a header 16 minutes later to make it 2-0.

But, as they showed against Greece last Saturday, South Korea are a team to be reckoned with. Despite the deficit, they showed plenty of fight and eventually got their reward at the end of the first half. Argentine defender Martin Demichelis failed to control a simple ball and was dispossessed by Lee Chung-yong who proceeded to deftly slip the ball past Argentine keeper Sergio Romero to make it 2-1.

After getting themselves back into the game the Koreans fancied their chances, and even had opportunities to equalise after the break. They were punished for not taking them as the Argentines upped their game and showed off the raw talent in their side.

Messi, while he never hit top gear, was always threatening. Carlos Tevez was a constant thorn in the side of the Korean defence, making frequent and devastating runs up the left flank - often drawing two or three defenders to the ball in the process.

The man of the hour however was Higuain. The Real Madrid man, who scored 27 goals in 32 league games last season, was a terrifying presence in the Korean penalty box. That he would score a second was almost certain, it was just a question of when.

He finally struck his second in the 76th minute, when he showed a striker's predatory instinct to pop up in the box and tap the ball in after Messi's shot hit the post.

He completed his hat-trick just four minutes later with another smart header, making him the first player to score three in a game since 2002 and an early favourite to take the golden boot. ·