Cool South Koreans advance to Sweet 16

Bounce back from 1-0 deficit to tie Nigeria

By: Mike Corder Posted: 1:00 AM CDT Wednesday, Jun. 23, 2010

DURBAN, South Africa -- South Korea reached the second round of the World Cup by holding Nigeria to a 2-2 draw Tuesday in their final group game.

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DURBAN, South Africa -- South Korea reached the second round of the World Cup by holding Nigeria to a 2-2 draw Tuesday in their final group game.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 23/06/2010 (5947 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

DURBAN, South Africa — South Korea reached the second round of the World Cup by holding Nigeria to a 2-2 draw Tuesday in their final group game.

Defender Lee Jung-soo and Park Chu-young scored for South Korea after Kalu Uche had given Nigeria the lead in the 12th minute. Ayegbeni Yakubu converted a 69th-minute penalty to draw Nigeria level again, but the Africans squandered a couple of good opportunities to score a winner.

“During the game, we conceded the first goal and that was a tough situation,” South Korea coach Huh Jung-moo said. “But the players stayed cool and levelled the score.”

Argentina won Group B by beating Greece 2-0 in the other match, meaning Nigeria would have advanced with a win despite losing their first two games. Argentina won all three games to finish with nine points, while South Korea had four points, Greece three and Nigeria one.

Nigeria coach Lars Lagerback was left ruing his team’s inability to finish.

“I was disappointed about all the chances,” Lagerback said. “The players have done really well. They worked hard over time.”

The only other time the Koreans got beyond the group stage was when the team surged to the semifinals in 2002 on home soil as tournament co-host with Japan.

That stunning run, ended by a 1-0 loss to Germany, turned South Korea’s Dutch coach Guus Hiddink into a national hero.

“Our goal was to reach the last 16. We succeeded in doing this for the first time away from home,” South Korea captain Park Ji-sung said. “So I’m very happy we accomplished this in South Africa. All of the players know how important this is.”

The Korean substitutes sprinted onto the field and hugged their teammates at the final whistle and danced in front of a small group of flag-waving fans.

South Korea had slightly more of the possession in the first half, but it was Nigeria that took the lead when Chidi Odiah beat two defenders on the right and sent in a low cross for Uche, who slipped in front of his marker Cha Du-ri to fire home from close range.

— The Associated Press