`탱고 축구' 아르헨티나가 무패 행진으로 조  1위를 차지해 16강에 올랐다. 

아르헨티나는 22일(한국시간) 프랑크푸르트 월드컵경기장에서 벌어진  2006독일월드컵 C조 조별리그 네덜란드와 3차전에서 득점을 기록하지 못한 채 0-0으로  비겼다. 

양팀은 나란히 2승1무로 승점 7을 기록했으나 골득실에서 아르헨티나(＋7)가 네덜란드(＋2)에 앞서 조 1위가 됐다. 

이로써 아르헨티나는 25일 새벽 D조 2위 멕시코와 16강에서 맞붙게 됐고 네덜란드는 26일 새벽 D조 1위 포르투갈과 8강 진출을 다투게 됐다. 

16강 진출이 좌절된 코트디부아르와 세르비아-몬테네그로의 경기에서는  코트디부아르가 3-2로 역전승을 거둬 월드컵 첫 승을 신고했다. 

반면 세르비아는 연방 이름으로 출전한 마지막 대회인 이번  월드컵에서  3패로 쓸쓸하게 물러나는 아쉬움을 남겼다. 

아르헨티나 0-0 네덜란드 
 
이미 16강 진출을 확정지은 양팀은 경고 누적을 우려해 주전선수들을 대거 제외시켜 경기는 시종일관 맥빠진 흐름이었다. 

아르헨티나는 에르난 크레스포, 하비에르 사비올라, 가브리엘 에인세를 선발 명단에서 뺏고 네덜란드는 아르연 로번, 요리스 마테이션, 히오바니 판  브롱크호르스트, 욘 헤이팅아, 마르크 판 보멀 등을 벤치에 앉혀 놓았다. 

소강상태가 이어지던 경기는 전반 28분 아르헨티나 후안 리켈메의 프리킥을  네덜란드 수비수가 걷어낸 것이 골대를 맞아 탄성을 자아냈다. 

반격에 나선 네덜란드는 35분 베슬러이 스네이더르가 회심의 슛을 날렸으나  아르헨티나 수비수가 걷어냈다. 

후반에도 양팀은 일진일퇴를 거듭했으나 끝내 득점없이 비겼다. 

이날 양팀은 유효 슈팅수가 각각 3개에 그쳤으나 반칙은 38개를 주고 받으며 지루한 난전을 벌였다. 

역대 상대성적에서는 네덜란드가 2승1패1무로 리드를 지켰다. (연합뉴스) 
 
Netherlands 0 : 0 Argentina 

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) - Argentina doesn't score at will all the time. It even looked a tad tired at the end after another dominating performance. 

A 0-0 draw with the Netherlands on Wednesday took away Argentina's perfect record at the World Cup. But a masterful performance by World Cup rookies Lionel Messi and Carlos Tevez will make Argentina an overwhelming favorite in Saturday's second-round matchup against Latin rival Mexico. 
"I know we are still lacking. I know we will compensate for that in the coming three days," said Argentine coach Jose Pekerman. 

After a virtuoso performance in a 6-0 win against Serbia Montenegro, a tightly organized Dutch defense and masterful goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar kept the Argentines scoreless. 

"The only thing we lacked were goals," Tevez said. "We did everything right and for some reason we were unable to score." 

The Dutch took heart that an inexperienced defense withstood the likes of Messi and Tevez and were full of confidence going into Sunday's second round clash against Portugal in Nuremberg. 

It was the fifth 0-0 game in the first round, tying the World Cup record for an opening round, set in 1974. 

"We fought well as a team and even had some chances at the end," said coach Marco Van Basten. 

Few would have thought a well-oiled machine might show weakness at the end of 90 minutes. But the Dutch couldn't take advantage and they will play Portugal on Sunday in Nuremberg. 

Both teams sat several key players, giving center stage to the 18-year-old Messi, who made his debut as a World Cup starter and did everything but give Argentina victory. 

Messi, who played 69 minutes, ran the show much of the time he was on the field. He set up chances for teammates, tested the inexperienced Dutch defense and showed skills a precious few players possess. 

Especially at such a tender age. 

When Messi was substituted, Diego Maradona led the warm applause from the stands. 

All that time, Dutch winger Arjen Robben, the team's star in its first two games, was on the bench, saving his strength for the second round. The Dutch sat five starters for the game, the Argentines four as both teams were already sure to advance. 

In his Dutch record-equaling 112th international, Edwin van der Sar produced the save of the match, a one-handed dive to swipe out a 20-yard drive from Tevez in the 74th minute. 

"We had our hands full," said Van Basten. "We played against one of the top teams in the world, and we survived. We kept them from scoring." 

Overall though, the meeting of the 1978 finalists rarely produced the intensity everyone hoped for. It made Messi's performance all the more exciting. 

Given space and time, the prodigy was a joy to watch for the sellout crowd of 48,000. He had been injured in the closing stages of his European club season for FC Barcelona, and he showed an eagerness to make up for lost time. 

In the 10th minute, he spotted a run by Esteban Cambiasso and sent the midfielder through the heart of the Dutch defense, forcing defender Khalid Boulahrouz into a goal-saving tackle. 

In the 33rd minute, he set up Maxi Rodriguez on the right side, but his shot went into the side netting. 

Just ahead of the halftime whistle, he took on the whole Dutch defense, and Messi's 20-yard shot whistled just wide past goalie Van der Sar. 

In the stands, Maradona was encouraging the new star of the Albiceleste toward goal, and thousands of Argentine fans were singing "Ole, Ole, Ole, Ola, Argentina cada dia te quiero mas." ("Argentina, I love you more every day.") 

For the first time at the World Cup, even the Dutch fans were thoroughly outperformed. 

On set pieces, Argentina still is led Juan Riquelme and, even there, Messi had his impact. 

Once Riquelme realized the Dutch were just too tall for crosses, he sent a low pass into the box, and Messi pressured so well that Boulahrouz pushed the ball onto his own goalpost. 

In reply, the Dutch could do little. Their best chance came when defender Nicolas Burdisso gave the ball away to Dirk Kuyt and the forward failed to pick out the open Rafael van der Vaart in the middle. Kuyt fired straight at goalkeeper Roberto Abbondanzieri from too tight an angle. 

Perhaps the only weakness of Argentina was evident very late in the game. Suddenly, the Dutch started outrunning the South Americans and, for the only time in the game, pressured the defense. 
 
 

세르비아는 전반 10분 니콜라 지기치가 중원에서 날아온 볼을 잡아 골키퍼를 가볍게 제치고 골문에 밀어넣었고 전반 20분 사샤 일리치도 코트디부아르의  수비수가 실책으로 바로 앞에다 떨어뜨려 주자 그대로 주워담았다. 

그러나 이후 코트디부아르가 세르비아 문전에서 잇따라 행운을 얻었다. 

전반 37분 코트디부아르는 아르튀르 보카가 페널티 왼쪽 바깥지역에서 올린  크로스를 세르비아의 밀란 두디치가 골대 정면에서 오른손으로 건드려 페널티킥을  획득, 아루나 딘다네가 가볍게 차넣어 1골을 만회했다. 

전반 인저리타임에 세르비아의 알베르트 나지가 경고 누적으로 퇴장당한 뒤  후반 들어서자마자 코트디부아르는 파상 공세를 펼치며 세르비아의 문전을 두드렸다. 

세르비아 문전을 쉴새없이 위협하던 코트디부아르의 딘다네는 후반 22분 페널티 오른쪽 외곽에서 날아온 크로스를 머리로 받아넣어 동점골을 터트렸다. 

후반 41분에는 코트디부아르 보나방튀르 칼루의 슛이 세르비아 페널티지역 안에서 수비수의 손에 또 맞았다. 공교롭게도 이번에도 두디치의 손이었다. 칼루는 페널티킥을 가볍게 차넣어 역전골을 성공시켰다. (연합뉴스) 
 
Cote d Ivoire 3 : 2 Serbia-Montenegro 

[CIV] 15. DINDANE Aruna (37' PEN) 15. DINDANE Aruna (67') 8. KALOU Bonaventure (86' PEN)
[SCG] 19. ZIGIC Nikola (10') 22. ILIC Sasa (20')

MUNICH, Germany (AP) - A goalkeeper kneeled in prayer with his back to the action. A star striker sought to calm his nerves before a decisive penalty kick. 

And orange-clad Ivory Coast fans were in a frenzy as they anticipated one more chance to revel in their team's ground-stomping elephant dance. 
"Meaningless" is a subjective term in the World Cup, where a game between two mathematically eliminated teams built to a thrilling climax and ended with a strife-torn nation's first victory on soccer's biggest stage. 

Bonaventure Kalou's penalty shot in the 86th minute clinched the 3-2 victory over Serbia-Montenegro, capping a comeback from a two-goal deficit. 

"I was just a little bit nervous for what people would think about me and Ivory Coast," said Kalou, a seasoned striker for Paris Saint-Germain. 

He kissed the ball before scoring past Dragoslav Jevric. 

"I knew if I missed this penalty that was going to be terrible for me, but as a soccer player you have to take risks and that was another one." 

The tension was too much for Ivory Coast goalkeeper Boubacar Barry to take. He prayed, facing his own goalpost. He started celebrating even before turning around, knowing by the crowd's reaction that Kalou had scored. 

The Elephants - both those in the game and those on the bench, including suspended star striker Didier Drogba - ran to the corner nearest their biggest cheering section and did their dance, to which their fans sing in French: "When the Elephants dance, it's the ground that suffers." 

"It's something funny we practice in training," Kalou said. "Luckily we had the chance today to celebrate a winning goal." 

Aruna Dindane scored the Elephants' other two goals in a game as thrilling as it was sloppy, with thunder and lightning over head a fitting accompaniment for explosive play by two teams about to head home. 

The first penalty shot by Dindane, who played sparingly as a reserve in Ivory Coast's 2-1 loss to the Netherlands last week, cut the Elephants' deficit to 2-1. He then headed in the tying goal midway through the second half. 

"This World Cup victory was very important for us," Dindane said. "We were unlucky in this tournament in the first two games and this is like a small remedy for all our misfortunes." 

Ivory Coast is a country divided by a rebel-held north and government controlled south following a four-year civil war - an end to which may be in reach with the onset of disarmament talks. The team had hoped to inspire unity at the World Cup, but despite playing exciting soccer, they suffered a pair of frustrating 2-1 losses to Argentina and the Netherlands. 

Playing in its first World Cup, Ivory Coast fell behind 2-0 in all three of its games. But against Serbia-Montenegro, the Elephants had enough to complete the comeback. They held a 20-6 advantage in shots and a two-to-one edge in possession. 

Towering striker Nikola Zigic and opportunistic midfielder Sasa Ilic scored for Serbia-Montenegro, which after a disastrous World Cup will disband on account of Montenegro's succession from the former Yugoslav state. 

Serbia-Montenegro allowed 10 goals in three losses after giving up just one in 10 qualifying games. 

There were nine yellow cards handed out, including two each to Albert Nadj of Serbia-Montenegro and Cyrille Domoraud of Ivory Coast. Nadj was ejected in first-half injury time, and Domoraud got his second yellow card in second-half injury time. 

Zigic got defensive-minded Serbia-Montenegro off to a quick start in the 10th minute. He made the goal look easy after Dejan Stankovic spotted the 6-foot-6 forward on a run up the middle and hit him with a bending 35-yard pass. Zigic easily cut inside defender Blaise Kouassi, sidestepped Barry and skidded the ball into the open net. 

It was Serbia-Montenegro's first goal in the World Cup after losing 1-0 to the Netherlands and 6-0 to Argentina. 

The Blues would need only 10 minutes to score again when they exploited another blunder by an Ivory Coast defense that was plagued by costly mistakes throughout the tournament. 

Cyrille Domoraud badly misplayed a long free kick in front of his own net. Ilic was there to pick up the gift, deke Barry to the ground and score easily while Elephant defenders flailed their arms and shouted at one another. 

In the 35th minute, Dudic was caught senselessly punching out an Ivory Coast cross into the penalty area, giving the Elephants a penalty shot. Dudic offered an embarrassed smile as Mexican referee Marco Rodriguez gave him a yellow card. 

He then watched as Dindane slid the penalty shot inside right post - twice - because the first had to be retaken after several players rushed into the penalty area too early. 

"It was very difficult psychologically for us, this game, but we started well," Dudic said. "Two penalties blew it up." 

Dudic disputed the second penalty shot, saying there was no way he could get his arms out of the way of a hard shot blasted just a few yards from him. 

"The first one was of course a penalty, but the second was not."