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| Sunday, 16 June 2002 |
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S.Korea reach last 16, help U.S. on way INCHON, South Korea, June 15 (Reuters) - Co-hosts South Korea, roared on by a passionate crowd, reached the second round of the World Cup for the first time on Friday when they beat nine-man Portugal 1-0 and dumped them out of the tournament. Portugal, one of the pre-tournament favourites, went out amid huge controversy after key midfielder Joao Pinto and defender Beto Severo were both sent off. "We did not agree with the referee's decisions but there's no point going on about that now," a shattered Portugal coach Antonio Oliveira said after his multi-talented side's second defeat in their three group D games. World player of the year Luis Figo and other Portugal players left the pitch in tears. The 71st minute goal from Park Ji-Sung five minutes after the second red card sent the stadium into raptures and put the Koreans in the last 16 with co-hosts Japan, the first time the two teams from Asia have made it through the first round. "It has done a lot for the people of Korea," South Korea's Dutch coach, Guus Hiddink, said. "It gives me a lot of satisfaction and I'm glad I can help the Korean people be happy with their victories." In the second group D game, the United States scrambled into the second round thanks to the South Korea victory -- despite losing 3-1 to Poland. South Korea play Italy on Tuesday. The United States play Mexico on Monday. It was a sad exit for Figo and other members of the so-called golden generation of Portuguese soccer, who have been together since winning the World Youth tournaments in 1989 and 1991. "We fought until the last minute. We did everything possible to achieve a result and we are leaving the World Cup with our heads high," Figo said. "They were very unlucky." The Portuguese campaign finished in disarray when Joao Pinto was dismissed in the 27th minute after crashing in from behind on Park. Joao Pinto had to be calmed down and led from the pitch after arguing with Argentine referee Angel Sanchez. Intense atmosphere Portugal defender and captain Fernando Couto held Sanchez by the face as the players argued with the referee over the decision, losing their composure in an intense atmosphere, fuelled by the screaming of 50,000 Korean fans. "It was a foolish tackle for Joao Pinto that caused the red card and then we had the advantage," Hiddink said. In the 66th minute Beto was sent off for his second bookable offence, a foul on midfielder Lee Young-Pyo. The defeat brought back memories of the semi-final of the 2000 European Championship when Portugal lost to France on a golden goal penalty. The Portuguese players were beside themselves in that game and defender Abel Xavier was banned for nine months for jostling the referee. That was later reduced to six months on appeal. The Portuguese players went up to shake Sanchez by the hand at the end of Friday's match. But substitute Abel Xavier was still protesting and team officials made sure Couto made his way off the pitch without any harsh words to the referee. Despite constant Korean pressure, Portugal came close to equalising on several occasions through Nuno Gomes and through Sergio Conceicao who hit the post. Both teams came close to scoring in the dying minutes of the game, in which referee Sanchez handed out a total of five cards as well as the red cards in an intense atmosphere in the Inchon stadium. Afterwards, the Korean squad celebrated their piece of history-making by running up and down the pitch hand-in-hand and diving to the ground to the delight of the screaming fans who had cheered their every move. South Korean delight Before the tournament began, South Korea had not won a single World Cup game in their previous five finals and were expected to struggle to get past the first-round. But a 2-0 defeat of Poland in their opening game, a 1-1 draw with the United States and Friday's victory has steered them towards their second-round clash with Italy. "I think the team is growing and growing with every game. I'm sometimes surprised myself," Hiddink said. "They can cope with very, very high expectations from everyone in the country." He said his side controlled Friday's game from the first minute. "They didn't create any chances. That's a credit to the team when you see what world class players they have." Park took his goal well cutting in from the right to shoot through the legs of Portugal keeper Vitor Baia. "Even though Portugal are a strong team, I had no fear," Park said. Portugal came to the tournament having scored more goals than any other European country in the qualifying. "We are very, very disappointed. This is not the result we expected when we started this World Cup. We did not achieve our goal of reaching the second round," Oliveira said. "We played under strength for more than an hour," he added. "We had some bad luck at the end of the match. We had two or three chances to score. My players did everything possible to score and to get us into the next round." Asked about the next Tuesday's clash with Italy, he said: "For the moment I'm not thinking about that. "Tomorrow's the day for thinking about that. For tonight, let's have a light glass of wine." |
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