In what proved to be a surprisingly evenly balanced match, the Korean national team managed to hold football powerhouse England to a 1:1 draw, in the Jeju World Cup stadium in Seogwipo, Tuesday. Showing no fear of one of the World Cup favorites, Team Korea fought hard for possession from the opening whistle and was actually the first to have a shot on target.

England, fielding a strong team, though without the services of normal captain, David Beckham, recovering from an injury, failed to established mid field dominance and battled with a confident Korea for the majority of the match.

The scoring opened in the 25th minute, with England taking the lead as Michael Owen managed to get to a deflected save by Lee Woon-jae, despite the cover, and slid the ball into the right of the net. This followed some relentless pressure that saw two goal line saves by the Korean defense.

The second half saw the national team almost achieve complete dominance over England, with most of the half played in the English half. Korea were rewarded with the equalizer six mutes from the start with Park Jie-seong heading in a goal from a set piece corner, which saw a curved corner ball headed into his path for him to beat English keeper, David James.

Following this it was Team Korea that applied most of the pressure having most of the chances at goal, but failing to convert. The hard-earned draw must be seen as a boost to the national team's confidence, following the 4:1 defeat of Scotland, and a vindication of head coach Guus Hiddinks strategy.

Korea now face France in its final warm up match on May 26.

(Chris Price, chris@chosun.com )