2-0 win over Greece but tough road ahead

South Korean supporters, nicknamed the Red Devils, cheer for their team during the first Group B match against Greece at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth, Saturday. / Korea Times



In a surprise to a lot of experts _ and a refutation of the odds against South Korea as well _ the national team claimed a comfortable 2-0 win over Greece in its opening match. Its goal of getting through the first round, however, still remains open ended with the manager having to come up with tactics to deal with Argentina and Nigeria.

Saturday’s triumphant result brought praise from around the globe. “The Koreans look like they'll be more than a handful for Group B rivals and a good bet to advance,” Sports Illustrated said.

Against a much weaker-than-expected Greece, Huh Jung-moo’s squad maintained dominance throughout the game in style, except for some worrying moments in the middle of the second half. Headed by Park Ji-sung, Korean midfielders showed sufficient energy and inventiveness to threaten the Greeks.

Even the defence line, often questioned over its height disadvantage against tall and robust Greek attackers, played their roles to the fullest in denying a series of aerial assaults.

In many ways, the initial result was an interesting fusion of those in its previous couple of World Cups, which ended with clearly differing consequences.

Huh Jung-moo’s squad dominated the Europeans throughout the match, scoring one goal in each half, in a mirror-image repetition of its victory against Poland back in 2002, when South Korea drew with the United States and beat Portugal to advance to the round of 16 as a group winner.

In spite of another opening win, South Korea failed to make the knockout stage in a close call in 2006.

It had a flying start with a 2-1 win over Togo and managed a last-minute 1-1 draw with the runner-up France, but lost 2-0 to Switzerland in the last group match and surrendered the berth to the two European countries.

This time, the match composition had more similarity to the bitter 2006 experience: starting with a counterpart who proved to be easier to deal with, moving to the strongest group rival, and then to a decisive last match.

This means some part of the team’s outcome is likely to be out of its control with the first matches played. Currently on top with a win, South Korea will be in a very good position if Greece beats Nigeria in its next match.

However, such an expectation is meaningful only on the condition that Greece doesn't fall to the group’s doormat, like Togo did in 2006, as the first win will prove to be nothing if the Europeans end with the same result as Argentina against Nigeria.

Prevailing predictions are that South Korea will focus on strong defense against the overwhelming Argentinean attackers with the implicit aim of a draw, but some critics say that strategy could lead to a worse landslide loss that could even influence the team’s overall valor before the decisive Nigeria game.

Former Korean manager Guss Hiddink, who lifted the underdog into a surprise semifinalist eight years ago on home turf, said “fighting-fire-with-fire” could be the best strategy to deal with Argentina in a recent interview.

About the Greece match, he was quoted as saying by a local Dutch media outlet that he was sort of disappointed with the Korean performance after the first half because the team “could certainly have played better.”

Everyone expects Argentina to beat South Korea due to its reputation and higher FIFA ranking, and that’s the best opportunity for the country to make an upset over the powerhouse, the Dutchman said in an interview with the local television broadcaster KBS, which was aired here Sunday.

“That’s why Korea has to clash head to head with Argentina. You have nothing to lose,” Hiddink said.

He also said what was most important was to keep Lionel Messi at bay, adding that mission will be the key to a “winnable” match against the South Americans.