|
|
|
| June 25, 2006 | Sunday | Jumadi-ul-Awwal 28, 1427 |
Senderos, Frei put Swiss through at Korea’s expense
Switzerland 2 South Korea 0
HANOVER, June 24: Goals from Philippe Senderos and Alex Frei gave Switzerland a 2-0 World Cup win over South Korea on Friday, earning a clash with Ukraine in the last 16.
The result means an early exit for South Korea who finished fourth when they co-hosted the tournament in 2002.
Senderos headed the opening goal from a free kick by Hakan Yakin in the 23rd minute.
Frei made sure of victory with 13 minutes left, pouncing on a stray pass by a defender, rounding goalkeeper Lee Woon-jae and slotting the ball into an empty net to seal Korea's elimination.
The Swiss striker scored after an offside flag went up.
Argentine referee Horacio Elizondo ruled the goal should stand after a protest from the Koreans and a consultation with his linesman.
Defender Senderos dislocated his shoulder in the second half and is a major doubt for the game with Ukraine on Monday.
“It was a very intense match, South Korea are a good team and we were a bit lucky at times, but we deserved the win I think overall,” Swiss coach Kobi Kuhn said.
South Korea's coach Dick Advocaat felt his team had been unfortunate.
“Most of the decisions didn't go our way and some were not to our liking.”
“In the second half we deserved more than nothing. We were just not good enough in the end,” he added.
Switzerland are the only team yet to concede a goal in the World Cup so far.
By winning the group ahead of runners-up France they avoid a second round game with highly rated Spain.
The Swiss were always dangerous at set pieces, with Yakin a revelation in his first international start for more than nine months.
Sidelined by a string of injuries for much of that time, he showed little sign of rustiness when he fired in a perfectly weighted free kick for Senderos to head past the Korean keeper.
The Swiss defender sustained a nasty cut near his eye after clashing heads with Choi Jin-cheul. The Korean defender also needed medical treatment but played on with his head bandaged.
Senderos eventually had to go off after suffering his shoulder injury in the second half.
Switzerland had more than enough chances to double their lead as the first half progressed but it was Korea who ended it the stronger with Park Chu-young scuffing a scoring opportunity in the 44th minute.
Lee Chun-soo also had a fierce low drive parried by Swiss goalkeeper Pascal Zuberbuehler.
With France leading Togo in the other Group G game, South Korean knew they needed a win to qualify.
They pushed forward and left gaps at the back. The Swiss could have stretched their lead when striker Frei broke down the right only to see his powerful shot fly back off the top of the post.
Frei had missed a hatful of chances but was in the right place at the right time to complete the victory.
Scorers: Switzerland — Philippe Senderos 23, Alex Frei 77.
Halftime: 1-0.
Teams:
Switzerland (4-5-1): 1-Pascal Zuberbuehler; 23-Philipp Degen, 4-Philippe Senderos (2-Johan Djourou 53), 20-Patrick Mueller, 17-Christoph Spycher; 16-Tranquillo Barnetta, 6-Johann Vogel, 7-Ricardo Cabanas, 22-Hakan Yakin (5-Xavier Margairaz 71), 8-Raphael Wicky (19-Valon Behrami 88); 9-Alex Frei.
South Korea (4-3-3): 1-Lee Woon-jae; 12-Lee Young-pyo (9-Ahn Jung-whan 63), 6-Kim Jin-kyu, 4-Choi Jin-cheul, 3-Kim Dong-jin; 7-Park Ji-sung, 5-Kim Nam-il, 17-Lee Ho; 14-Lee Chun-soo, 19-Cho Jae-jin, 10-Park Chu-young (11-Seol Ki-hyeon 66).
Referee: Elizondo Horacio (Argentina).—Reuters
|
|
|
|
