GROUP E: Spying duties enticed David Platt to Ibaraki yesterday and, as he left this striking arena, passing the statue of Zico upon which an Argentina scarf had been mischievously draped, there was plenty for him to ponder but little to tell Sven-Goran Eriksson that he did not already know.

The England coach has long been an admirer of Gabriel Batistuta's predatory instincts, but the inspiration behind this victory was Juan Sebastian Veron, Eriksson's former charge at Lazio and perhaps the player with the most to prove in Sapporo on Friday. England have been warned.

Eriksson no doubt had enough on his mind last night without wanting to hear that Veron had produced his most exhilarating performance for longer than he or any Manchester United supporter will wish to remember, or that Batistuta's enduring brilliance had brought him the 10th World Cup goal of his illustrious career, taking the Roma forward to within four of Gerd Muller's all-time record.

Nor will Eriksson want to linger too much on Batistuta's matter-of-fact statement last night that he and his team-mates were dissatisfied with their own efforts.

"Our football was not that good," he insisted. "It wasn't our best game and I know we can improve."

His grievance was that Argentina's superior passing and possession did not conjure more goals,although he added: "We have shown we can deal with the pressure of being favourites, and that is quite something.

"But I believe we have a good team with plenty of character and hopefully we will go far in this tournament."

The fact that, after losing their pivotal defender Roberto Ayala with a tweaked hamstring in the warm-up to be replaced by Diego Placente, Argentina still restricted their opponents to only a couple of real chances speaks volumes for the way they controlled their opening game.

"If we play like that against England, we have an extremely good chance of beating them," said Veron. "It's the game everyone in Argentina wants to win. But going even further, I think it will be very difficult for any team to beat Argentina if we keep playing as we can."

On that basis, England might have to concede that a draw in the Sapporo Dome would constitute a good result before their final game against Nigeria in Osaka on Wednesday week.

Apart from a wonderful run and rising shot from Jay-Jay Okocha, drawing an equally marvellous save from Pablo Cavallero just after the half-hour, the Nigerians' neat passing game was seldom matched by an incisive edge, with their young striker Julius Aghahowa enduring a torrid time and Nwankwo Kanu lost in midfield.

But coach Adegboye Onigbinde is confident his squad can still qualify for the last 16, saying: "Although we lost, I was still very impressed with my boys. But the defeat means we will have to intensify our training and our preparation."

Despite playing to a huge burden of expectations, Argentina were brimming with attacking invention for most of a neat, yet unspectacular, match.

The twisting header with which Batistuta provided the decisive moment, directing one of Veron's superb corners beyond Ike Shorunmu from a seemingly impossible angle, justified Marcelo Bielsa's decision to select him as their lone striker, leaving the £37 million Hernan Crespo on the bench.

Ariel Ortega offered width and penetration, wearing the number 10 shirt that Argentina had tried to "retire" in honour of Diego Maradona. On the left, Claudio Lopez and then Kily Gonzalez tormented Efe Sodje in a way that will give Danny Mills food for thought.

Veron's ubiquitous display provided the vision and guile behind so many attacks, with Diego Simeone patrolling efficiently in front of the defence.

A wave of optimism, bordering on arrogance, is sweeping Bielsa's squad. "Everyone seems to think it will be a failure if we do not win the World Cup," the coach said. "If they are the rules, I am happy to accept them."

The foot injury that forced Batistuta out of the game nine minutes from the end is not expected to affect his involvement on Friday. "It's sore at the moment, but I should be fine," he said. "I'm looking forward to playing England; we all are." The feeling may not be wholly reciprocated.

SUBSTITUTES

Argentina: Kily Gonzalez for Lopez (45 mins), Aimar for Veron (78 mins), Crespo for Batistuta (81 mins).

Nigeria: Ikedia for Kanu (48 mins), Christopher for Sodje 73 mins.

YELLOW CARDS

Argentina: Samuel, Simeone.

Nigeria: Sodje.