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When Korean players fell to the ground one by one, it was difficult to tell if the moisture on supporters¡¯ faces was sweat or tears. ¡°Dae-Han-Min-Guk¡± still reverberated across the Hanover stadium where the match took place, and Red Devils sang, ¡°We are the champions, We will win¡± to cheer their team. But not even Choi Jin-cheul¡¯s fighting spirit and Lee Woon-jae¡¯s energetic defense could avert a crushing defeat at the hands of Switzerland that ended Korea¡¯s run in this World Cup.
In the 32nd minute of the second half, when Switzerland led 1-0, Alexander Frei was offside in the eyes of many, but the referee¡¯s whistle did not sound. Lee Woon-jae, doubtful about the decision, came out of the goal to block Frei anyway, allowing the Swiss forward to score a controversial second goal for his team.
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Korea manager Dick Advocaat gestures at referee Horacio Elizondo of Argentina after Switzerland's Alex Frei scored his team's second goal during their Group G World Cup 2006 football match in Hanover on Friday./Reuters
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Korea¡¯s defeat in its third Group G match on Friday brought its total points to four -- one win, one draw and one loss. Simultaneously, France beat Togo 2-0 in Cologne. There, Patrick Vieira scored the first goal set up by a pass from Franck Ribery in the ninth minute of the second half, with Thierry Henry winning his team the decisive second goal with the help of a header from Vieira seven minutes later. Group G winner Switzerland next meets Ukraine in the quarterfinals, while runner-up France faces Spain.
Korean players put a brave face on their rout. ¡°One of the reasons we lost the game may be that we failed to concentrate after conceding a goal to Switzerland. It was a good opportunity for us to find out what to improve in the future,¡± Park Ji-sung said. ¡°I have no regrets but I¡¯m sad.¡± Supporters may draw some consolation from the fact that its World Cup run saw Team Korea win its first overseas victory and score a draw against football powerhouse France.
In fact, the team was more formidable than ever in Friday¡¯s match. With Park Chu-young, Cho Jae-jin and Park Ji-sung out front, Lee Chun-soo with his famous fast footwork was put behind the strikers to guarantee more freedom of movement. They controlled the game with more shots on target (seven for Korea against Switzerland¡¯s five) but Fortuna was not on their side.
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Korea's Cho Jae-jin (19) kicks the ball as Switzerland's Patrick Mueller, Philipp Degen and goalkeeper Pascal Zuberbuehler look on during their Group G World Cup 2006 football match in Hanover on Friday. /Reuters
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Right before the end of the game, Korea had several chances of scoring -- a free kick from Lee Chun-soo, Park Chu-young¡¯s left foot shot and Lee Chun-soo¡¯s turning shot -- but none of them went in. Kim Jin-kyu had another shot in front of the goalmouth in the 38th minute of the second half, but it bounced back after hitting the post, and Ahn Jung-hwan¡¯s last shot also failed to score. That inability to convert opportunities cost Korea the match. By contrast, Switzerland¡¯s Philippe Senderos niftily headed in Hakan Yakin's free kick in the 23rd minute, to score its first goal of the match.
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Soccer fans gather to watch a live TV broadcast of the 2006 World Cup Group G soccer match between Korea and Switzerland on a giant video screen installed at Gwanghwamun, downtown Seoul, on Saturday. /Yonhap
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Some 1.4 million people took to the streets here to cheer their team, including 350,000 around Gwanghwamun, 150,000 in front of Seoul Plaza and 100,000 in the Busan Asiad Stadium. The vast apartment complexes in Jamsil and Mokdong and residential streets in Seoul were lit up throughout the night as their inhabitants waited for the match and watched other games. Many supporters could not turn their eyes away from the TV screen for even a second lest their Team score an equalizer. But their hearts broke when the referee gave Switzerland¡¯s dubious second goal.
The Taeguk Warriors return home on Sunday afternoon.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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