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| S.Korea, Brazil Win, France Ties in World Cup Matches |
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South Korea scored two second half goals to beat World Cup debutants 10-man Togo 2-1 in their opening World Cup group tie. Substitute Ahn Jung-Hwan scored the winner in the 71st minute when turned and fired a deflected shot into the top right-hand corner of the Togo net. Togo first scored in the 31st minute through Mohammed Kader who latched on to a through ball, took it in his stride and fired a shot across South Korea's goalkeeper Lee Woon-Jae and in off the far post. South Korea striker Lee Chun-Soo hit in the equalizer in the 53rd minute when he curled an exquisite free-kick over the Togo wall and into the net. The free kick was earned by midfielder Park Ji Sung who was hauled down by Togo skipper Jean-Paul Abalo. The foul earned Abalo's second yellow card and he was sent off. South Korean coach Dick Advocaat was happy with the way his team kept their composure, coming from behind to beat 10-man Togo in their opening game. "To be fair, the players were very calm at halftime even though they were behind," said the Dutchman. "In the second half we took some risks and it was a success. Otto Pfster, who resigned as Togo's coach on Friday but returned to the team several hours before the kickoff, refused to comment if he will continue with the job. He claimed he was proud of his side's World Cup debut despite their loss. In Berlin, AC Milan's midfielder Kaka blasted a long-distance shot home on 43 minutes, giving defending champions Brazil 1-0 win over Croatia in their World Cup Group F match. With the win, Brazil not only collected the same three points in Group F as Australia, who crushed Japan 3-1 on Monday, but also set a World Cup record of becoming the first team to win eight successive matches in the finals. Croatia had not suffered a defeat in their last 10 competitive matches, and had not been beaten since Euro 2004 where they lost to England 4-2 in their final group match. But the record was broken Brazil. Brazil coach Carlos Alberto Parreira paid tribute to Croatia after the match. "The challenge is not only the first game," Parreira said, "In addition to the fact that my team hasn't played a lot together, we faced an adversary that was good and marking very well, with energy. Five-time world champions Brazil showcased their artistic football skill in front of 72,000 spectators at the Berlin Olympian Stadium, the venue for the final of the FIFA World Cup 2006 in Germany. Brazil captain Cafu, who helped set up Kaka's goal, said: "I told the team before the game we had to go up seven steps, we went up one and now we have six to go," he said, referring to the number of matches Brazil will have to play to win a sixth World Cup. Then Croatia expertly stifled the South Americans attacking flair and seemed to become the better side. The second half saw fierce attacks from the Croatian side. Forward Dado Prso, the most active player on the pitch, and Werder Bremen's prolific striker Ivan Klasnic made a dozen of dangerous shots or headers on goal. But goalkeeper Dida's best performance kept the Brazilian sheet clean. In Stuttgart, 1998 world champions France were forced to a 0-0 tie against Switzerland in their 2006 world cup opener. While retiring Zidane and some of his compeers were fighting for their final glory in the international stage, the Les Bleus had yet to overcome the specter from the 2002 tournament when they suffered a shocking early exit in the first round. "We get used to sharing points with Switzerlands," said French coach Raymond Domenech after the match. The Swiss twice held Domenech's men during the qualifiers and the overall 35 previous head to heads between the two nations were 15 wins for France, 12 for Switzerland and eight draws. "We didn't score but if you look into all the opportunities that we created, you will find it out very positive," said Domenech. Arsenal prolific striker Henry squandered a couple of chances when his shots went either wide or high or right into the Swiss keeper Pascal Zuberbuehler's fingers. The Switzerland had a real good chance in the 23rd minute, when Tranquillo Barnetta's indirect free kick eluded everyone and came back off Fabien Barthez's left hand post. Swiss defender Alexander Frei reached the bounce but his shots first hit the post, and then went high off the bar. "I have to be satisfied with the result and things the way it looked. The French were stronger all as a whole and in the first half," said Swiss coach Koebi Kuhn. "My players showed a lot of will in the match. Despite of small things especially on defense, and ball possession, I'm very satisfied with their performance." (Xinhua News Agency June 14, 2006) |
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