Heinze scored in the sixth minute after taking advantage of slack marking to power in a diving header from 12 meters (yards) from Juan Sebastian Veron's corner.
The Nigerians boasted a clear height advantage, but struggled for much of the match to contain diminutive Argentina forward Lionel Messi, who tormented them with his piercing movement and almost-magnetic ball control.
Striker Gonzalo Higuain failed to convert three good chances, including what seemed a certain goal in the fourth minute. Messi, too, came agonizingly close on several occasions.
Argentina players celebrate Gabriel Heinze's first-half goal during their World Cup match against Nigeria in Johannesburg. That proved to be the winning tally as Argentina scored a 1-0 triumph.
Many say that Messi rarely plays well for his country, but the FIFA World Player of the Year with Barcelona posed an immediate threat to the Nigerians.
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After seeing Higuain spurn the early chance, Messi tried a solo effort two minutes later, forcing a flying, one-handed save from goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama.
Enyeama then leapt to thwart Messi after he had cut in from the right-hand touchline and sent in a curling strike.
"We're not going to kill ourselves. We have two more games to play," Enyeama said. "We thank God the score was a little encouraging."
Nigeria responded with some fluent passing and the main threat to the South Americans came from the imposing Chinedu Ogbuke Obasi, who repeatedly got the better of fullback Martin Demichelis and Veron in midfield, bursting down the left but watching his crosses come to nothing.
The second half began in the same manner, with Argentina pressing to extend the lead. In the 48th minute, Messi flicked a cross from the right wide of the left post.
In the 79th, the misfiring Higuain was replaced by Diego Milito, who failed to make the starting lineup despite his two goals in the Champions League final for Inter Milan. Two minutes later, Messi broke clear but again failed to hit the target, shooting against the goalkeeper's legs.
The Argentines almost paid for their squandered chances, as the Nigerians grew in confidence.
Taye Taiwo came close to an equalizer with a low effort that flew just past Sergio Romero's left post, and substitute Kalu Uche then scooped a weak shot over the crossbar from inside the box with only eight minutes left.
"I'm very disappointed," Nigeria coach Lars Lagerback said. "Unfortunately, there was a mistake from our side that created the corner kick. We were sleeping on one of the corners and that was enough. We were punished this time."
Argentina coach Diego Maradona prowled around the technical area throughout the match, with hands clasped behind his back. For the first time as Argentina coach, he wore a suit — a stark contrast to the image of him hurling himself, track-suited, into a puddle on the field when Argentina all but secured qualification with a last-gasp win over Peru last year.
The Ellis Park stadium was full of Argentine blue-and-white shirts, with banners of Maradona, Che Guevara and Argentine clubs draped all around.
***
Lineups:
Argentina: Sergio Romero, Martin Demichelis, Gabriel Ivan Heinze, Walter Samuel, Angel Di Maria (Nicholas Burdisso, 85), Jonas Gutierrez, Javier Mascherano, Juan Sebastian Veron (Maxi Rodriguez, 74), Gonzalo Higuain (Diego Milito, 79), Lionel Messi, Carlos Tevez.
Nigeria: Vincent Enyeama, Chidi Odiah, Daniel Olusola Shittu, Taye Taiwo (Kalu Uche, 75), Joseph Yobo, Dickson Etuhu, Lukman Haruna, Sani Kaita, Chinedu Obasi (Peter Odemwingie, 60), Victor Obinna (Obafemi Martins, 52), Ayegbeni Yakubu.
Source:http://www.usatoday.com
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