S. Korea trounces Algeria again in football friendly

South Korean men’s Olympic football team midfielder Moon Chang-jin, center, celebrates with his teammates after scoring his team’s third goal during the friendly match between South Korean and Algeria at Goyang Complex Stadium in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, Monday. South Korea won 3-0. / Yonhap

The South Korean men's Olympic football team beat Algeria 3-0 for their second straight victory over the Africans in a friendly Monday.

With more than 14,300 fans gathered at Goyang Complex Stadium in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, north of Seoul, midfielder Moon Chang-jin grabbed a brace for the 10-man hosts after Lee Chang-min had the opener. In their first encounter on Friday, South Korea beat Algeria 2-0.

For their second match, the young Taeguk Warriors started with a 3-4-3 formation. It was the first time since the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-23 Championship semifinals against Qatar on Jan. 27 that head coach Shin Tae-yong used three defenders. In the previous meeting against Algeria, South Korea used a 4-2-3-1 formation.

Midfielder Ryu Seung-woo almost put South Korea on the board in the 15th minute when he missed the empty net after Algerian goalkeeper Farid Chaal had left the box to clear the ball. Algeria's Oussama Darfalou created a one-on-one chance in the 21st, but the South Koreans dodged the bullet as the forward chipped the ball over the net.

Just a minute after the critical moment, South Korea got the opening goal, thanks to the towering striker Kim Hyun. The 190-centimeter Jeju United forward headed down Sim Sang-min's throw-in from the left and midfielder Lee Chang-min, Kim's Jeju teammate, struck it with his right foot for the lead.

After setting up the opener, Kim then tried to get in on the scoring act. He took a couple shots from just outside the box and also delivered a header, but none of his efforts found the net before the half-time whistle.

The teams each substituted three players to spice up the game in the second half. For this friendly, South Korea and Algeria agreed to no substitution limits on the number of players.

While the Algerians pushed up for an equalizer, South Korea doubled the lead in the 59th when Kim this time passed the ball to Moon, who fired one with his left foot from outside the box to beat the goalkeeper.

Algeria did find the back of the net in the 72nd, but Darfalou was called for offsides when Houcine Benayada was taking a shot from the right side of the box.

Moon, who also scored a goal against Algeria last Friday, got his second goal of the match a minute later by converting a penalty drawn by forward Park In-hyeok. After Park was pushed down by Raouf Benguit in the Algerian box, Moon stepped up to take the spot-kick and made the score 3-0.

In the 79th, South Korea became 10-man after Park Yong-woo was sent off with his second yellow card of the game.

Algeria made their last efforts by pushing players forward, but they failed to test South Korean goalkeeper Gu Sung-yun till the end.

Both South Korea and Algeria have qualified for the Rio de Janeiro Summer Games in August. South Korea finished runner-up in the AFC U-23 Championship in January, while Algeria were second in the 2015 Africa U-23 Cup of Nations. The group draw for the Olympic football tournament, where 16 countries will compete, is scheduled for April 14. (Yonhap)