| |
SOUTH KOREA 2 / JAPAN 1, April 1st, 1998. |
SEOUL, South Korea, April 1, 98 (AP) Hwang Sun-hong scored in the 73rd minute Wednesday, giving South Korea a 2-1 victory over Japan in a rain-soaked warmup match for soccer's World Cup finals. The 30-year-old Hwang, playing after a two-year break due to injury, kicked the winning goal over Japanese goalie Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi from close range. The match was billed as a friendly encounter, but many South Koreans thought their national prestige was at stake after their national team had lost to Japan twice in recent months. The two historical rivals -- South Korea was a colony of Japan in 1910-1945 -- battled virtually evenly throughout the match at Chamsil Olympic Stadium. South Korea went ahead in the 41st minute when forward Lee Sang-yoon headed a low-flying centering pass off the right post and into the goal. Japan evened the score in the 62nd minute with a goal from close range by forward Mashashi Nakayama, who tipped in a pass from midfielder Hidetoshi Nakata. Eleven minutes later, Hwang dribbled the ball 10 yards (meters) into the penalty zone and scored. "I organized the best possible team to beat Japan. All played superb soccer," South Korean coach Cha Bum-kun said. "If we play like this, we can get good results in the World Cup finals in France." The victory was a big relief for Cha, who came under sharp criticism after his team had lost to Japan twice in a row in the past five months. South Korea lost to Japan 2-0 in a World Cup preliminary round in Seoul in November and 2-1 in the Dynasty Cup in Japan in March. Soccer officials said another loss would have forced Cha to resign. Both teams qualified for the World Cup finals. For Wednesday's encounter, South Korea called in four star midfielders and forwards from the Japanese and French leagues. Hwang rejoined the team after a two-year hiatus. He had been staying in Germany for treatment. Japan fielded a different team. Its eleven included teenagers Daisuke Ichikawa, 17, and Shinji Ono, 18. Japanese coach Takeshi Okada said he wanted to test the ability of the younger players before choosing the team Japan will send to France in June. 
|
|
Developped by : NETPLUS Communication. Copyright © 1996 NETPLUS Communication. All rights reserved. |
