Roy Hodgson has spoken of his high regard for Argentina playmaker Juan Roman Riquelme.

The South Americans were widely expected to progress to the last 16 but the 6-0 rout of Serbia and Montenegro took everyone by surprise with Riquelme running the show. The Villarreal star, 27, was named man of the match by the FIFA technical study group of which former Blackburn boss Hodgson is a member.

Hodgson said: "It was not easy to choose one as there were several very good players. But we thought that Riquelme had a tremendous influence for Argentina."