Make-or-break match awaits S. Korea

South Korea’s Park Chu-young

By Kim Hyun-cheol
Staff reporter

It's a game of brinkmanship, with no other choice left for either side but to win.

In their last group B match on Tuesday in Durban, South Korea and Nigeria have one last shot at reaching the knockout stage. If the national team is successful it will be the first time for South Korea to reach the Round of 16 at an overseas World Cup.

A win is as urgent as it has ever been for South Korean coach Huh Jung-moo, whose leadership is in question in the wake of a dismal 4-1 defeat to Argentina.

Still second in the group, South Korea can't guarantee its progress, even if victorious.

In the eventuality Greece stuns Argentina in a match that will be played at the same time as the Korea-Nigeria one, goal difference and goals scored will come into play for all the teams except the Super Eagles.

South Korea hasn't lost a game in its three past encounters with the Africans, with two wins and one draw, but it doesn't give the team much of an edge as the last meeting took place nearly nine years ago. Lee Dong-gook scored the winner in the 2-1 victory in September 2001,.

The Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors striker is in danger of missing out on all the group stage matches at his first World Cup in 12 years. Until recently Lee was expected to start up front against Nigeria, but Huh appears to have changed his mind.

Instead, the coach is seemingly inclined to stick with the tested pair of Park Chu-young and Yeom Ki-hun, in spite of doubts lingering over Yeom, especially after the Suwon BlueWings midfielder was grilled after squandering a critical scoring chance against Argentina.

Developments in the Argentina-Greece matchup could influence possible changes to the Korean team during the game.

Nigeria’s Aiyegbeni Yakubu

Nigeria has a powerful attack, led by Aiyegbeni Yakubu, Peter Odemwingie and Obefami Martins, as well as the squad's only scorer in the tournament Kalu Uche. A new star has emerged in goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama, who will be tough to get the ball past.

Enthusiastic cheering from the Nigerian supporters could rock the Taeguk Warriors. They are expected to occupy most of the seats in the Durban Stadium, which can hold 62,760 people, apart from some 500 seats for Korean supporters.

Nigeria will have to play with a depleted lineup as winger Sani Kaita is banned for this game following a red card in his previous match, while key defenders Taye Taiwo and Uwa Echiejile are injured.

That means capitalizing on the flanks will be the most important mission for South Korea, with two English-based players, Park Ji-sung and Lee Chung-yong, likely to spearhead the Korean offense. Both the midfielders have found the net in South Africa.

Striker Park Chu-young is also bent on making amends after a painful own goal against Argentina.

"Obviously I made a mistake in the Argentina match, but it's more important to bring out the best I can do against Nigeria. I have no problem, and am as confident as ever," the AS Monaco player said.

He scored the equalizer against the African side at the U-20 World Cup back in 2005, where South Korea came from behind for a 2-1 win in the group stage.

Nigeria has long been leading African football. The Super Eagles are the second highest FIFA ranked participants from the continent at 21st, only trailing Cameroon at 19th.

Making its fourth appearance at the World Cup, Nigeria has emerged as a new power in the sport by making it to the Round of 16 in two straight tournaments in 1994 and 1998.

The country has deteriorated in recent years as it came bottom of the group stage competition in 2002 behind England, Argentina and Sweden, and did not qualify from the African preliminaries four years later.

In an adventurous bid to prepare for the World Cup, Shaibu Amodu was relieved of the manager's post and replaced with Swede Lars Lagerback. But the team's campaign has been far from successful with two consecutive losses to Argentina and Greece.

한국을 기다리는 운명의 경기

화요일 더반에서 열릴 B조 한국과 나이지리아전은 16강에 진출할 운명을 짓는 마지막 경기다. 만약 한국이 이기면 해외에서 열린 월드컵에서의 첫 16강 진출이다. 허정무 감독은 아르헨티나전에서 완패하면서 감독 자질에 의문을 사 이번 나이지리아전 승리가 시급하다.

하지만 이긴다고 해도 그리스가 아르헨티나를 이기게 되면 골 득실차를 따져 어려운 상황에 놓일 수도 있어 16강 진출을 장담할 수가 없다.

한국은 아프리카 국가들을 상대로 지금까지 세 번의 경기 중 2승 1무로 진 적이 없다. 하지만 최근 아프리카 국과의 경기가 지난 2001년의 것이어서 효력이 없다.

나이지리아는 강한 공격력을 갖추고 새로운 골키퍼 스타를 창출하면서 이번 경기가 힘들 것 같지만 날개가 전 그리스전에서 퇴장당하고 두 명의 주요 수비수들이 부상을 당해 한국이 선전을 할 수 있을 듯 하다.

한편 62,760 석의 관람석에는 나이지리아 인들이 거의 모든 자리를 차지하고 태극전사들에게는 500석밖에 없어 응원전에서는 밀릴 것 같다.