It's do-or-die for Nigeria and Greece on Thursday with both sides knowing that defeat in Bloemfontein will likely end their World Cup dreams after damaging opening losses.

The Super Eagles went down 1-0 to Argentina in their Group B clash on Saturday with Greece crashing 2-0 to South Korea later in the day, leaving both in desperate need of points to keep their tournament hopes alive.

But coach Lars Lagerback remains upbeat about Nigeria's chances despite a miserable run which has now seen them go six matches since their last win at the World Cup in 1998 - including five defeats.

"I know that my Super Eagles players will handle this situation very well so from my point of view I am very positive going into the next game. It doesn't matter if Greece had lost or won."

"It's very important for us now to go into the next game and win it," added Lagerback, who for nine years was in charge of the Swedish national side.

Wolfsburg forward Obafemi Martins, who came on as a second-half substitute, said a win at the Free State stadium was vital for Nigeria, who created many chances against Argentina but failed to make them count.

"The match against Greece is so important now because we simply have to pick up three points. We're still in with a good chance," he said.

Euro 2004 champions Greece, gracing the World Cup stage for only the second time in their history, are anxious to avoid a repeat of 1994 when they crashed to three defeats in the United States without scoring a single goal.

But Panathinaikos striker Dimitris Salpingidis insisted they could bounce back from their opening defeat and stay alive in South Africa.

"We have quality, and we're not out of the tournament yet. There's still two games to play. We still have dreams and we'll do our best to make them continue."

"Like us, Nigeria lost their opening match. They're a very good team, very physical, strong and fast, a quality outfit," he said.

"Nigeria work well as a team and created chances against Argentina. They're very good when they play the ball in attack.

"But we have also shown in recent years that in big matches we have a compact defence with a quick counter-attack, that's the way we play."

One major obstacle in the way of the Greeks is Nigerian goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama, who pipped Argentine superstar Lionel Messi for official man-of-the-match honours in their Johannesburg clash.

KEY TO MATCH

Vincent Enyeama v Greek attack

Nigerian goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama dazzled during his side's opening match against Argentina, keeping out the South Americans' dazzling array of striking talent. To break their World Cup scoring duck, the Greek forwards, including Euro 2004 star Angelos Charisteas, will have to find a way past the in-form keeper.

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