Park expresses confidence in Argentina match

Park Ji-sung, 29, captain of South Korea's World Cup squad, on Monday expressed confidence that his team will produce "good results" in the upcoming group competition with Argentina.

"As the team spirit is in upswing from the victory in the first match against Greece, we will face (Argentina) with confidence," Park, a Premiere League midfielder, told reporters at a press availability in Rustenburg, northwest of Johannesburg.

"Despite Argentina being a world-class team, we believe we can produce good results if we play at the top of our game," said Park, who was selected "Man of the Match" on Saturday's game for scoring his team's second goal against Greece.

The South Koreans are currently ranked first in Group B, followed by Argentina, Nigeria and Greece. The South American football titans, one of the top contenders at the World Cup finals, beat Nigeria 1-0 on Saturday.

The Manchester United midfielder said that he is going to face the Argentines assuming that his team will "no doubt" win the match, and emphasized that efforts from all of his teammates will be required to stave off star players such as Lionel Messi and Carlos Tevez.

Park said he sees Tevez, his former teammate at Manchester United, as a top-class striker and a "threatening player" to the South Koreans, and noted that the Argentines' offense must be deflected through an organized and team-oriented defense.

Since their first trip to the World Cup in 1954 in Switzerland, South Korea has made it to the second round only once, in 2002, when they played at home. The team has never made it to the second round of the World Cup finals in away games, although they have played in six consecutive World Cup tournaments, from 1986 in Mexico to 2006 in Germany.