WORLD CUP
July 7, 2014
THE ASIAN REPORTER n Page 9
Asians in American sports w Asian Americans in world sports
Japan and South Korea share similar World Cup fates
WORLD CUP WOES. Japan and South Korea
entered this year’s World Cup in Brazil with similarly
hopeful pasts, but both squads were eliminated after
the group stage of the competition. Pictured (top
photo) is Japan’s Atsuto Uchida (#2) tripping up Ivory
Coast’s Gervinho (#10) during a Group C World Cup
soccer match at Arena Pernambuco in Recife, Brazil.
In the bottom photo, South Korea’s Yun Suk-young
(#3) and Belgium’s Nacer Chadli challenge for the
ball during their Group H World Cup soccer match at
Itaquerao Stadium in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
By Mike Street
Special to The Asian Reporter
apan and South Korea entered this
year’s World Cup in Brazil with
similarly hopeful pasts, but both
Asian squads yielded similarly disap-
pointing results. Each team failed to hold a
lead, could not defeat a short-handed
opponent, allowed four goals in a game,
and were eliminated from the tournament
by a team with little to gain from a win.
Japan had hoped to build on its strong
performance at the 2010 World Cup in
South Africa, where it won its first
matches on foreign soil. Defeating
Cameroon and Denmark in group play,
Japan battled Paraguay to a scoreless
draw in the second round before losing in a
penalty
shootout.
Following
that
impressive run, the team hired Italian
coach Alberto Zaccheroni, who hoped to
achieve an even better result in Brazil.
Japan was anchored by veteran
midfielder Yasuhito Endo, who leads the
team with nearly 150 international
appearances,
providing
devastating
passes and accurate free kicks. Endo was
joined by Keisuke Honda, an attack-
minded midfielder who scored two of
Japan’s four goals in the 2010 Cup, and
forward Shinji Okazaki, who recently set
the Japanese scoring record in Germany’s
Bundesliga; Okazaki, too, scored for Japan
in South Africa.
South Korea also hoped to continue its
recent successes after qualifying for its
eighth-straight World Cup. Like co-host
Japan in 2002, South Korea played well,
winning its first World Cup match ever,
against Poland. The Taeguk Warriors
went on to defeat top-flight teams
Portugal, Italy, and Spain, eventually
falling in a semifinal match to Germany.
In the 2010 Cup, South Korea reached
the second round for the first time outside
Korea. After scoring five goals in group
play, a team record, they lost to Uruguay
in the second round, when now-infamous
striker (and biter) Luis Suarez scored his
second goal of the match in the 80th
minute.
The Taeguk Warriors were led by a trio
AP Photo/Lee Jin-man
AP Photo/Petr David Josek
J
of youthful midfielders, all playing in the
Bundesliga. Twenty-one-year-old Son
Heungmin notched that league’s first hat
trick by a South Korean last November,
and Ji Dongwon, just a year older than
Son, has played in the English Premier
League, too. Both are led by new team
captain Koo Jacheol, who led all scorers in
the Asian Football Confederation’s Asian
Cup in 2011 and steered South Korea to a
surprise bronze medal at the 2010
Olympics.
In its opening match, South Korea took
the lead against Russia but could not hold
onto it. Midway through the second half,
Lee Chungyong drilled a shot that the
Russian goalkeeper mishandled, and the
ball popped over his shoulder into the net.
But six minutes later, Korean keeper Jung
Sungryong deflected a shot in front of his
own goalmouth, and forward Aleksandr
Kerzhakov drove the rebound home for the
equalizer, and the game ended in a draw.
Japan also failed to hold its lead in its
opening match against the Elephants of
the Ivory Coast. In the 16th minute, Shinji
Kagawa fed the ball to a wide-open Honda,
who drove home the game’s first goal. The
larger Elephants soon wore down the
Japanese side, however, and aging
superstar Didier Drogba came off the Ivory
Coast bench in the second half to overload
Japan’s defense. Two quick scores followed
to hand Japan the defeat.
Japan’s draw came against Greece in its
second match, one in which they also
earned a one-man advantage. Japan was
the aggressor early, with Honda nearly
curling in a free kick, and then Greek
captain Konstantinos Katsouranis was
sent off after being issued a second yellow
card just before the end of the half. The
short-handed Grecian squad came
together nicely, threatening Japan, who
could not capitalize on several sure-goal
opportunities. The Blue Warriors wasted
an excellent chance at a win, and the game
ended in a scoreless tie.
In its second match, South Korea had
little chance at victory against a dynamic
Algerian squad who piled up four goals, a
World Cup record for an African team. Two
early scores left the Taeguk Warriors
dazed and confused, possibly leading to a
defensive overplay later that half, leaving
Abdelmoumene Djabou open to drive home
a third tally. South Korea scored excellent
goals at the start and finish of the second
half, from Son and Koo, but Algeria added
its fourth score to seal the victory.
In its final match, South Korea faced a
short-handed Belgium squad assured of
advancement and resting three of its top
Continued on page 11
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