BEIJING, May 23 (Xinhua  By sportswriter Pan Yi ) -- Two-time world champions Argentina, who suffered an early exit in Korea/Japan World Cup soccer finals four years ago, are determined to avoid a repeat of nightmare this summer in Germany, despite being drawn into the Group of Death again.

    Although most will still view Argentina and the Netherlands as the favorites for emerging from the Group C, no one can look down upon Serbia and Montenegro, and Cote d'Ivoire, both have their own lethal weapons and confidence to achieve something, or at least act as big "trouble makers".

    Each of the four teams boasts of a shinning and eye-catching qualification road to the 2006 World Cup Germany. Argentina were the first South American team to notch a berth in the World Cup finals. Their 3-1 home win over Brazil in the qualifiers last year told the world they are still one of the hot favorites for the World Cup trophy.

    The Dutch, imperious in qualification, will have their hearts set on making a successful return after an eight-year absence. They almost comfortably got through a tough qualifying group that included the Czech Republic and Romania. Marco van Basten's side now should have plenty of confidence about themselves in their opening match in the Group of Death against Serbia and Montenegro.

    The Serbo-Montenegrins, meanwhile, will also come to the tournament full of confidence fresh from a preliminary competition where their defensive solidity impressed the entire world. They enjoyed an exceptional qualifying tournament, edging past Spain and conceding just one goal in 10 matches. Without compromising their technical ability, Ilija Petkovic's men have solidified their back line in impressive fashion.

    Cote d'Ivoire's qualification ahead of Cameroon was nothing short of miraculous. Henri Michel's troops evoke comparisons with the Senegal team of 2002 with their attacking talents -- Didier Drogba, Bonaventure Kalou and Aruna Dindane -- and a refreshing enthusiasm.

    The most eye-catching clash in this group will be the Netherlands vs Argentina on June 21 in Frankfurt, which may be the most exciting duel of the whole first round.

    The Dutch undoubtedly pose the greatest threat to the South Americans. The two teams have met on numerous occasions, including three encounters in the FIFA World Cups. The quarter-finals of France 98 in Marseille saw the Dutch net a last-minute winner to decide an enthralling tie. And the final of Argentina 1978 between the teams of Mario Kempes and Johan Neeskens has gone down in the history of the tournament.

    Argentina must be starting to think they are cursed. In 2002, they met England, Sweden and Nigeria in the first round. Despite being favorites, they then failed to emerge from the group. In the win-or-die match against Sweden, the Argentines created a huge number of scoring chances but they just couldn't convert them.

    Argentina, when at their best, play as entertaining a game of football as anyone in the world. Juan Roman Riquelme is definitely the key playmaker. His superb ball control and positional awareness make him devilishly hard to mark. Villarreal's run to the semi-finals of the Champions league was largely down to the inspirational Riquelme.

    Besides Riquelme, every player of the star-studded Argentine side is the key member of his club. If Juan Riquelme, Juan Pablo Sorin, Lucho Gonzalez, Hernan Crespo and Roberto Ayala are playingas one, Argentina will be nearly impossible to beat.

    Their midfield game is truly a thing of beauty. Riquelme is oneof the premier playmakers in the world and Sorin's superior passing and ball-control make it very hard for anyone to get anything going against the Argentines.

    But if Riquelme struggles, the game seems to fall apart in midfield and teams break upfield with good goal-scoring opportunities and the strikers, including Crespo, will find it hard to create their own chances.

    Youngster Lionel Messi of Barcelona is a player many have their eyes on and Argentine coach Jose Pekerman expects great things from him. Some even view Messi as the new Maradona.

    Viewing Argentina's fate in the World Cup Germany, Chelsea forward Crespo said,"I don't think we carry any burden from the failure last time. We've got another difficult group but we've got necessary experience to deal with it."

    "The most important thing is that we must focus from the very first game," he added.

    The most dangerous foes for Argentina might be Dutch striker Ruud van Nistelrooy and Cote d'Ivoire forward Drogba. Dutch manager van Basten regards van Nistelrooy as his spiritual heir. The Manchester United top striker was a keen source of goals for the Netherlands during qualifying and his form will be crucial if the Dutch are to make significant progress in Germany.

    Drogba, the Chelsea's star striker, scored freely to help his club top the English Premier League again and his country advance to the semifinals of the African Nations Cup this year.

    Meanwhile, Nemanja Vidic, a key figure in Serbia and Montenegro's nut defence, will also try his best to stop Argentine skilful forwards from scoring freely. Few people were surprised when Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson swooped for Vidic duringthe January transfer window.

    One more eye-catching point in this group is that Drogba, Crespo and Dutchman Arjen Robben all play their club football at Chelsea and will all come up against each other in Germany. And they will also meet Serbia and Montenegro's Mateja Kezman, their team-mate last season. Enditem