Hiddink's team makes dream come true
South Korea 2 Poland 0
South Korea’s footballers sparked one of the biggest parties in the country’s history when they beat Poland to record their first win in the World Cup finals.
Despite qualifying for five previous tournaments, the Koreans had never won any of their 14 games.
Guus Hiddink’s side put that right in style as Sun Hong Hwang and Sang Chul Yoo scored in each half in the Asiad Stadium to get the co-host’s campaign off to a flying start.
Korea had carried the expectancy of the whole nation on their shoulders going into the Group D game and they demanded nothing less than a last-16 place.
‘‘Hiddink! Make our dream come true!’’ said one banner of the massed ranks of the Red Devils, as the Korean fans are called.
The players tried to do their part, skipper Myung Bo Hong’s shot deflected off Tomasz Waldoch and behind and when Chong Gug Song swung in the corner, Ki Hyeon Seol bounced a header off the ground and into the arms of Liverpool’s Jerzy Dudek.
Korea dominated from start to finish against the subdued Poles and Yoo went close when he fired a 25-yard drive just wide of Dudek’s left-hand post.
Then the moment the whole of South Korea had been waiting for came on 26 minutes when Hwang, who was playing in his fourth World Cup, scored - and what a goal it was too.
Lee crossed from the left and Hwang, who plays in the J-League for Kashiwa Reysol, met it first time with a left-foot volley which whizzed past Dudek,beating him at his near post.
The whole team, bar goalkeeper Woon Jae Lee, sprinted to Hiddink and mobbed him on the touchline as the whole stadium erupted.
Korea kept up the pressure in the second half and Dudek needed to be alert to touch Ji Sung Park’s volley over the top.
Scoring his second goal for his country had clearly taken it out of Hwang and he had to be replaced by Jong Hwan Yoon five minutes into the second half.
Korea didn’t miss him one bit and on 53 minutes his Kashiwa team-mate Yoo scored their second goal.
He beat one Polish challenge and then unleashed a right-foot shot from over 25 yards out, and although Dudek got two hands to the ball he couldn’t keep it out, sparking more wild scenes of jubilation.
The party was in full swing and substitute Jung Hwan Ahn went close to scoring three times in the final minutes.
