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LAST 16 REVIEW
KOREA 2-1 ITALY
ITALY AND SOUTH KOREA served up a
pulsating encounter in Daejeon that will surely be remembered as
one of the most memorable games to light up the tournament in
recent years.
It was the South Koreans who got off to the livelier start, and within five minutes, they had been awarded a penalty, when two Italian defenders - Francesco Coco and Christian Panucci - both simultaneously fouled Korean attackers inside the Italian penalty area.
It was down to Perugia bit-part-player Ahn Jung-Hwan to take the spot-kick. He aimed low and left, but Gianluigi Buffon proved his worth as the world’s most expensive ‘keeper, and saved fantastically.
Twelve minutes later, the Italians took the lead. A wicked inswinging Francesco Totti corner was curled into the near post, where Christian Vieri stole in front of the defender to head home his fourth goal of the tournament.
Guus Hiddink's side - who unlike Japan earlier today - rose to the occassion and set about scoring an equaliser. On 35 minutes, a lovely turn by Ahn opened up the Italian defence in an instant, but all he could muster was an inaccurate shot over the bar.
Two minutes later the Italians had a great chance to double their lead and secure their place in the quarter-finals. Some delightful skill by Totti on the edge of the area earnt the Roma playmaker a yard of space to feed the ball to Damiano Tommasi, who was only denied by a wonderful save from Lee Woon-Jae.
There were a catalogue of opportunities for Ahn to atone for his penalty miss - but it came back to haunt him and he failed to hit the target each time.
But just three minutes from elimination, the Koreans finally got the break they deserved. A flicked cross into the penalty area by substitute Hwang Sun-Hong fell straight to the feet of Panucci. But the former Chelsea right-back was at sixes and sevens and miscontrolled it into the path of Seol Ki-Hyeon, who rifled a bobbling shot the ball into the bottom right hand corner.
There was still a golden opportunity for Vieri to win the game in normal time - but the £32m striker glanced high and wide of an open goal with his right foot. Never had such a renowned striker looked so totally mediocre!
The game went into extra-time and the excitable Korean crowd greeted every touch of the ball by one of their players with an amazing cheer that seemed to spur them on even more.
Some clumsy defending by captain Paolo Maldini on Park Ji-Sung gave South Korea a free-kick in a dangerous position in the 101st minute.
Hwang Sun-Hong took the set-piece quickly, and fired the ball under the wall. It was only the quick thinking of Buffon - who leapt full-stretch to his left - that kept the Italians in the game.
Minutes later, Totti was sent-off for his second bookable offence - diving - and the Europeans sensed the only way they could qualify for the next round was by holding for a penalty shoot-out.
Substitute Gennaro Gattuso had a chance to win it for the Italians in the 112th minute - when an ill-advised backheel on the edge of his own area by goalscrer Seol handed him possession. But Lee Woon-Jae spectacularly plamed over his own bar to keep the ball outl and the game alive.
The Koreans wouldn’t let their heads drop and were elevated to new heights by the astonishing support. In the 117th minute, Lee Young-Pyo played in a superb right-footed cross from the left, and Ahn Jung-Hwan finally made up for that missed penalty by rising above Maldini to guide the ball past Buffon.