Wednesday, Jun 26, 2002
Wednesday, Jun 26, 2002 |
| Front Page | ||
|
News:
Front Page |
National |
Southern States |
Other States |
International |
Opinion |
Business |
Sport |
Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary | Front Page
Germany's Michael Ballack celebrates after scoring the goal against South Korea in the 2002 World Cup semifinal in Seoul on Tuesday. - AP
Michael Ballack scored a 75th minute winner after striker Oliver Neuville broke down the right and cut the ball back for the Bayern Munich-bound midfielder who fired a shot with his right foot straight at goalkeeper Lee Woon-Jae, but then drilled in the rebound with his left from the edge of the six-yard box. Four minutes earlier, Ballack was shown a yellow card for tripping Lee Chun-Soo on the edge of the German area. It means he will miss the final after picking up two cards since the group stages. Germany will face the winner of Wednesday's Brazil vs. Turkey semifinal on Sunday in Yokohama, Japan. ``The match was decided by the superior fitness of the German team,'' said German great Franz Beckenbauer. ``It was again a team victory, that's the biggest strength of the German squad.'' German coach Rudi Voeller said Germany deserved the victory, ``throughout the match we had our chances.'' South Korea's Dutch coach Guus Hiddink said his players had been too cautious. ``In general, the German team was a little more experienced. We tried in the second half ... but in the first half we had a little bit too much respect for the German team,'' Hiddink said. The South Koreans, the first Asian team to make the semifinals of a World Cup, had the better of the opening stages with some free-flowing football. A great chance was wasted in the 8th minute when a right-wing cross from Cha Doo-ri was met first time by Lee, only to be saved by Oliver Kahn. Virtually every spectator in the ground was wearing South Korea's colours, turning the stadium into a screaming red cauldron. Non-stop chants of ``Dae Han Min Guk'' — ``Republic of Korea'' — and ``Pilseung Korea'' — ``Victory Korea'' — resounded throughout the game. Fans at one end of the stadium held up red and white placards to read, in Korean characters: ``Dreams come true.'' The message spread across upper and lower decks of the stadium. Germany, though, had an immediate chance to silence the passionate home crowd in only the second minute, but Carsten Ramelow's left-foot drive, following a break down the right, went straight at goalkeeper Lee. The Germans found themselves pegged deep in their half, but launched some effective counterattacks. In the 17th minute, Neuville, finding space between two South Korean defenders on the edge of the box, put a volley straight at the 'keeper. Seven minutes later, five-goal Miroslav Klose appealed for a penalty after falling in the box, but Swiss referee Urs Meier rightly ignored Klose's call. The South Koreans repelled Germany's attacks with some fine defending, their midfielders racing back to protect the back four. In the 53rd minute, Torsten Frings had to make a fine sliding tackle to take the ball off the feet of Cha Doo-Ri who was breaking dangerously through the middle. Hiddink then made a double switch, bringing on Ahn Jung-Hwan, the golden goal hero against Italy, to replace veteran striker Hwang Sun-Hong. Defender Lee Min-Sung came on for Choi Jin-Cheul. In the 63rd, Klose tried a header, but failed to get any power on it. Klose tried to volley a pass from Ramelow, but it sailed high and wide. Voeller took off Klose after 70 minutes and brought on Oliver Bierhoff. Ballack's goal took the sting out of the home crowd and South Korea's attacks couldn't break down Germany's tough back four. South Korea had a chance in injury time but Park Ji-Sung fired a shot from the edge of the area wildly over. At the final whistle, the German players jumped for joy, with replacement players running on to the field. Some of the South Koreans slumped to their knees. One was flat on his back, arms stretched out. ``We came here with the hope and support of the fans. It's been a great hope for us,'' said South Korean skipper Hong Myung-Bo. ``We'll do our best from here. Thank you all.'' After the match, Hiddink and Voeller hugged and then walked onto the pitch together. The Korean squad slowly walked to each end and, standing in a straight line, bowed to the crowd. The teams: Germany: 1-Oliver Kahn (c), 2-Thomas Linke, 5-Carsten Ramelow, 7-Oliver Neuville (14-Gerald Asamoah, 85th), 8-Dietmar Hamann, 11-Miroslav Klose (20-Oliver Bierhoff, 70th), 13-Michael Ballack, 17-Marco Bode, 19-Bernd Schneider (16-Jens Jeremies, 85th), 21-Christoph Metzelder and 22-Torsten Frings. South Korea: 1-Lee Woon-Jae, 4-Choi Jin-Cheul (Lee Min-Sung, 56th), 6-Yoo Sang-Chul, 7-Kim Tae-Young, 10-Lee Young-Pyo, 14-Lee Chung-Soo, 16-Cha Doo-Ri, 18-Hwang Sun-Hong (19-Ahn Jung-Hwan, 54th), 20-Hong Myung-Bo (c) (9-Seol Ki-Hyeon, 80th), 21-Park Ji-Sung, 22-Song Chong-Gug. Referee: Urs Meier, Switzerland. — AP
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail
News:
Front Page |
National |
Southern States |
Other States |
International |
Opinion |
Business |
Sport |
Miscellaneous |
|
|
|
The Hindu Group: Home | About Us | Copyright | Archives | Contacts | Subscription Group Sites: The Hindu | Business Line | The Sportstar | Frontline | Home |
Copyright © 2002, The
Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of
this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of
The Hindu
|