Port Elizabeth: South Korea and Greece, two teams with their best results of the decade well behind them, meet Saturday in a World Cup match that could have a pivotal bearing on Group B.
South Korea was a surprise semifinalist in 2002 when it co-hosted the World Cup with Japan, while Greece won the 2004 European Championship.
Neither has gone near those highs since, but both have a realistic chance of advancing from a group that also contains powerhouse Argentina and Nigeria.
South Korea started off the 2006 World Cup in Germany by beating Togo 2-1, its first win a World Cup outside Asia, then earned a 1-1 draw with France on a late equaliser from Manchester United's Park Ji-sung. But the Koreans lost 2-0 to Switzerland, preventing them from advancing to the second round in their seventh trip to the World Cup.
This is Greece's second appearance at the sport's marquee event, and the first was extremely forgettable. After finishing first and undefeated in its qualifying group, Greece went to the United States in 1994 with high expectations but lost 4-0 to Argentina, 4-0 to Bulgaria and 2-0 to Nigeria.
Ten years later, Greek football was at an all-time high with its win in the Euro. But Greece couldn't build on that performance, failing to qualify for the 2006 World Cup.
In the 2008 European Championships, things got even worse. Greece lost all three games and scored just one goal, becoming the first defending champion not to pick up a competition point in the subsequent edition of the tournament.
Greece started off its qualifying campaign for South Africa with wins over Luxembourg, Latvia and Moldova, scoring eight goals and conceding none in Group 2 en route to the European playoff draw against Ukraine. After a 0-0 draw in Athens, Greece earned a 1-0 second-leg win in Donetsk, the decisive goal coming from Dimitrios Salpingidis.
Greece's chances against South Korea on Saturday won't be helped by news that center back Vangelis Moras will sit out the match despite having recovered from a persistent groin injury.
Moras had been receiving daily physiotherapy instead of training in an attempt to overcome the nagging injury. Tests Wednesday showed he was fully recovered, but he said it is too early to be plunged into a World Cup match.
"I don't want to risk it," Moras said. "I want to be fit for Nigeria."
Greece faces Nigeria on June 17 and Group B favorite Argentina on June 22.
Three Greek players will arrive in Port Elizabeth on Friday morning with thinner pocketbooks after having had money stolen from their hotel rooms near Durban earlier this week.
A police spokesman said the unidentified players reported that euro1,600 (USD 1,921) had been stolen from their rooms on Tuesday night at the Beverly Hills Hotel in the resort of Umhlanga.
Olympiakos defender Vassilis Torosidis and Celtic striker Georgios Samaras will lead Greece, while Park and midfielder Lee Chung-yong will do the same for South Korea, which arrived in Port Elizabeth on Thursday and held a training session at a local stadium.
South Korea and Greece will hold their first and only training session at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Friday, about 24 hours ahead of their afternoon match in the new 45,000-seat facility nicknamed the "Sunflower" because of the unique design of its roof.
Port Elizabeth was the birthplace of the 91-year-old former South African president Mandela, who led the country from 1994 to 1999 after spending 27 years in prison due to his anti-apartheid activities.
Comments
0 comment