Wanderers In South Africa - Part 1

Posted: Saturday 12th June 2010

Tags: World Cup, Nigeria, Slovakia, South Korea, USA, Danny Shittu, Lee Chung-Yong, Stuart Holden, Vladimir Weiss

All three of Bolton's World Cup contingent kick off their campaigns on Saturday, with South Korea, Nigeria and the USA all in action.

Lee Chung-Yong's South Korea side will take to the field at lunchtime, with 2004 European Champions Greece providing the opposition in Port Elizabeth.

Group B's other contribution to the day will see Nigeria play Argentina at Ellis Park in Johannesburg, with Danny Shittu, who didn't feature at all for Wanderers last term, expected to make the starting line-up.

Then, in the evening kick-off, Stuart Holden is likely to be named in the USA side to face England in Rustenburg. Speaking ahead of the game, Holden admitted he was looking forward to lining up against Fabio Capello's side.

"Playing in England and playing against England makes it an especially big game," Holden said.

"England are one of the favourites for the tournament. Being around a lot of English guys and a Scottish coaching staff (at Bolton), there's a lot of talk.

"It's a great start to the tournament for us and a good test to see where we really are."

Another name familiar to Wanderers fans will be that of Vladimir Weiss. The midfielder, who spent the second half of last season on loan from Manchester City, has been included in the squad which open their tournament against New Zealand in Rustenburg on Tuesday.