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| Lee Keun-ho, left, celebrates with his teammates Lee Chung-yong, center, and Lee Yong after he scored Korea's first goal during a Group H World Cup match against Russia in Cuiaba, Brazil, Tuesday. / Yonhap |
By Kim Tae-jong
It's not fully satisfying, but not a bad start.
A first victory by keeping the lead to the end would have been best, but the 1-1 draw against Russia was good enough to give Korea — both players and the nation — confidence.
After the morale-sapping defeats in their last two warm-up matches, Koreans had turned pessimistic about their team in the World Cup in Brazil.
But the Taeguk Warriors proved Wednesday (KST) that they had much more to show.
Of course, a victory in the next match against Algeria is now more important than ever to qualify for the round of 16 but the tie with Russia is giving the fans an inkling that Team Korea can actually win.
After the tie, this reporter became one of the converts who so believe in Team Korea that a win over Algeria and another tie with Belgium now looks realistic. So to that end, go Korea!
Interestingly enough, the game didn't start in the convincing manner for Koreans.
The Korean team seemed very careful and tense in the first half.
The mode changed as substitute Lee Keun-ho put the team ahead in the 68th minute after his strong shot bounced out of the hands of Russian goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev and dropped into the net.
The lead lasted only for six minutes until Alexander Kerzhakov scored an equalizer by taking advantage of a missed clearance, but the Koreans successfully made several good chances, threatening to destroy Russia's tight defense line, with powerful distance shots.
The game showed that the Koreans were able to fix their weak defense and other problems that they exhibited in their warm-up matches.
Korean fans were worried about potentially the worst World Cup outing in the past decade.
It was also encouraging as they succeeded in their mission to boost their morale by erasing bad memories of the final warm-up matches.
Korea lost against Tunisia 1-0 in Seoul and was routed 4-0 by Ghana in Miami. Also, they got back close to their "do-my-best till the end" spirit.
The team was more organized with players more aggressive in pushing the Russians hard.
The defense, which turned out to be the biggest concern for Hong, was much improved, especially thanks to two center-backs Kim Young-gwon and Hong Jeong-ho, who blocked the Russians fairly comfortably.
In terms of offense, striker Lee Keun-ho, who substituted for striker Park Chu-young, should be first given credit for not only scoring the first goal but also providing his teammates with a moment to fight back hard.
But captain Koo Ja-cheol, and attacking midfielder Ki Sung-yeung also made good moves, continuously attempting to create good chances for their team and occasionally making powerful long-range shots.
Chosen as "Man of the Match," winger Son Heung-min moved diligently until he was substituted by Kim Bo-kyung in the 84th minute, trying to make chances for other attackers, although he missed a few good opportunities.
Of course, the tie guarantees nothing yet. The team needs to show a better performance and secure wins in order to move into the second round.
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