Best Players of Day Three - 2002-06-02

Francisco Arce from Paraguay, Juan Verón from Argentina, Sol Campbell from England, and Raúl González Blanco from Spain were selected as the best footballers of the third day of the World Cup. Francisco Arce scored a stunning goal in the 55th minute from 25 meters away, putting Paraguay ahead 2-1 against South Africa. However, this lead was later neutralized by a penalty from South Africa, resulting in a 2-2 draw. Arce also assisted the first goal for Paraguay with a free kick in the first half. Juan Verón captained Argentina in a thrilling match against Nigeria, which was a back-and-forth game. Verón took the corner kick that led to the only goal of the match by Gabriel Batistuta. Throughout his 78 minutes on the field, Verón made no mistakes and created dangerous opportunities for Batistuta with long shots from midfield. Additionally, he thwarted several Nigerian attacks before they fully developed. Sol Campbell scored England's only goal in their match against Sweden, which ended in a 1-1 draw, and was valuable both offensively and defensively. This goal, scored with a header from a corner kick, was his first in six years of playing for the national team and earned England a crucial point. Despite England's overall decline in the second half, Campbell continued to defend against Swedish attackers like a rock, preventing a potential defeat. Raúl González Blanco scored in the 44th minute against Slovenia in the Guangzhou stadium, helping Spain win the match 3-1. Raúl's goal was executed with such skill and cunning that it left the Slovenian defense and goalkeeper bewildered. He also created several other good opportunities for Spain in the second half. At the end of the match, he humbly stated that the credit for this victory belongs to all Spanish players and expressed hope that the spirit they showed would continue throughout the tournament.