Korea Gets 7th Straight World Cup Appearance
By Kang Seung-woo
Staff Reporter
South Korea has become the sixth nation in the world and the first Asian to reach the World Cup finals for the seventh straight time after it ousted the United Arab Emirates in a 2-0 win Sunday morning.
The national team, led by coach Huh Jung-moo, qualified for a berth in the upcoming 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa regardless of the outcome of its two remaining games in the qualifying round.
Korea first appeared in the quadrennial event in Switzerland in 1954, but then failed to qualify for the World Cup before advancing in the 1986 competition in Mexico. Since then the team has been a regular attendant.
Among the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) members, Korea is the only team to secure seven straight berths to the finals and its eight appearances are also the most.
Middle East powerhouse Saudi Arabia, which is tied for second with North Korea in Group B, is seeking its fifth consecutive qualification while archrival Japan has already pulled off its fourth-straight attendance. Both have played four times in the tournament.
As of Sunday, at the international level, five-time champion Brazil has shown up in all 18 events since its establishment in 1930, followed by Germany, which has won three titles, with 16 appearances in total, including 14 consecutive ones, and defending champion Italy with 14 overall appearances, including a 12 competition streak.
Argentina and Spain have played at the World Cup for nine and eight times straight, respectively, along with combined 12 and 13 berths.
England, Mexico and Belgium qualified for the World Cup finals six times in a row, but their streaks are up now.
The United States, which has qualified for the past five World Cups, is now bidding for its sixth consecutive participation.
UAE Match
Five minutes after the game started, Park Chu-young scored the first goal by tapping in a pass from teammate Lee Chung-young. The national team doubled their lead 32 minutes later when the UAE goalie deflected a shot into the path of Ki Sung-yeong, who pushed the ball into the net. In the second half, the two sides were scoreless. But Midfielder Kim Jung-woo was red carded for foul play, leaving Korea with 10 players.
Japan and Australia also secured berths for the FIFA World Cup next year with games against Uzbekistan and Qatar. Japan won 1-0 over the central Asian team. Australia and Qatar tied but the former finished first in its group on goal difference.
Huh Passes Tough Road
South Korean football manager Huh Jung-moo has overcome all the criticism directed at him to lift his team to a seventh-straight World Cup berth.
The Korean team beat the United Arab Emirates (UAE) 2-0 in Dubai on Sunday (KST) and qualified for the 2010 tournament.
When the 54-year-old former Chunnam Dragons boss filled the void created by Pim Verbeek's sudden resignation after the Asian Cup in 2007, he was an unwelcome figure from people in and out of football circles, who wanted a non-Korean headman to guide the team to another rosy day at the World Cup.
The national team had been managed by Guus Hiddink, Humberto Coelho, Johannes Franciscus Bonfrere, Dick Advocaat and Verbeek before Huh took over in December 2007.
Huh, who stepped down as national team manager in November 2000 after placing third at the Asian Cup in Lebanon, suffered a 1-0 loss to Chile in a friendly, his first game since his return, on Jan. 30 2008. But his side topped the East Asian Football Championship, held in China in February, with a 1-2-0 record against Japan, China and North Korea.
His victorious moment did not last long as the Taeguk Warriors drew in two third-round World Cup qualifiers against North Korea and Jordan.
Korea coughed up a 2-0 lead against Jordan at home, which raised concerns over his strategy.
Although his team finished first in the third round qualification, Huh was under siege due to a lack of scoring and a poor defense.
To make his situation worse, the Red Devils tied 1-1 with the North in the final round opener, which meant a fourth-straight draw with the neighboring rival since his takeover.
Despite mounting skepticism over his team, Huh kept testing young footballers and strived to put them and veterans, such as Park Ji-sung of Manchester United and Lee Young-pyo of Borussia Dortmund, in sync, and his efforts paid dividends.
Jubilo Iwata striker Lee Keun-ho, who did not see enough playing time on the national team earlier, netted two goals against Uzbekistan in a friendly match in October and matched the number again in a qualifier against the United Arab Emirates to rise as a new finisher. The 24-year-old added three more goals for the team ― one in a qualifier and two in friendly matches.
In addition, Korea showcased an explosive offense in the two matches by scoring seven goals.
The winning vibe continued as the unit ended its winless streak against Saudi Arabia dating back to 1974 at 19 with a 2-0 win, which got Huh and his players back in good standing with the fans.
Korea, a 2002 World Cup semifinalist, tied 1-1 with Middle East powerhouse Iran on the road in February and claimed a 1-0 win over the North Koreans in April.