Korea beats Uruguay 2-1 in friendly

By John Duerden

An exciting late period saw South Korea defeat Uruguay 2-1 on Friday night at Seoul World Cup Stadium, a first-ever victory against the South Americans in the eighth encounter between the two teams.

Second-half goals from Hwang Eui-jo and Jung Woo-young gave Korea, ranked 55 in the world by FIFA, a memorable win over a team placed 50 spots higher, much to the delight of a sell-out crowd in the capital.

Both teams had chances to win, but for the 60,000-plus fans in the capital there were no goals to cheer or lament until midway through the second half.

For new coach Paulo Bento, appointed in August, it was another chance to test out his strongest team against one of the strongest teams in world soccer.

So it was not a surprise that there were no surprises in the selection. The Portuguese boss is still getting to know his players and with the 2019 Asian Cup kicking off in early January is unlikely to experiment too much against the team ranked No.5 in the world by FIFA.

There were not many chances for either side but the action exploded to life after 65 minutes. Sebastian Coates fouled Hwang in the area but Son saw his penalty kick smartly saved by Fernando Muslera.?

Fortunately for the home fans, there was Hwang, who was the star of the tournament when Korea won the Asian Games in September, to react first and put Korea into its first-ever lead against Uruguay.

It didn't last long. Just five minutes later, central defender Kim Young-gwon slipped up at the back and there was Matias Vecino to take advantage and shoot home from the right side of the penalty area.

With 10 minutes remaining however Korea was back in front through the unlikely figure of defensive midfielder Jung Woo-young.

Uruguay did all it could to get back into the game and avoid a first defeat at the hands of the Koreans but there was applause from the large crowd at the end.

It is a confidence boost for the team and the coach heading into the 2019 Asian Cup where Korea will take on China, the Philippines and Kyrgyzstan.

The next test may be a little more experimental, against Panama in Cheonan on Tuesday in what is to be another sell-out. The Taeguk Warriors will approach that test with a spring in their step.