SOUTH KOREA : WORLD CUP HISTORY

South Korea is the first Asian team to reach six consecutive World Cups and seven overall. But the Koreans have struggled when they reach the final round. In their World Cup debut in 1954, the Koreans were drubbed by Hungary, 9-0, and Turkey, 7-0. In 1986, South Korea tied Bulgaria, 1-1 and lost two other matches by one goal. In 1994, the gritty Koreans rallied for a pair of goals in the waning minutes to tie Spain, 2-2, on opening night, played Bolivia to a scoreless draw, and gave Germany some headaches, rallying from a three-goal deficit to lose, 3-2. The victory drought continued in France with Korea going 0-2-1, losing to Mexico, 3-1, and to the Netherlands, 5-0, and playing to a 1-1 draw with Belgium.

As co-hosts with Japan, it was an entirely different story in 2002. The Koreans went undefeated in their group. During the knockout rounds, they were equally difficult to beat. The Koreans started out with a 2-0 win over Poland, continued with a 1-1 draw with the U.S. and wound up undefeated in group play with a 1-0 shutout of Portugal. Korea eliminated favored second round opponent Italy in extra time, 2-1, and bounced Spain by winning a penalty kick tiebreaker, 5-3, after playing to a nil-nil draw. The hosts finally came down to earth with a 1-0 semifinal loss to Germany and a 3-2 defeat to Turkey in the third-place match.