BERLIN, June 18 -- South Korea staged another big rally
to tie France 1-1 in their Group G match in Leipzig while five-time champions
Brazil defeated Australia 2-0 in Munich to qualify for the last 16 at the 2006
World Cup on Sunday. (More follow-up stories and pictures )
Brazil's player Fred, left, jubilates with
Juan after scoring the second goal for his team during the Brazil v
Australia Group F soccer match at the World Cup stadium in Munich,
Germany, Sunday, June 18, 2006. The match ended 2-0 for Brazil. The other
teams in Group F are Croatia and Japan.[AP] |
Thierry Henry scored in the ninth minute for France's first World Cup goal
since the 1998 final, only to see South Korea's Park Ji-sung level it in the
81st minute.
South Korea, who rallied from one goal down to beat Togo 2-1 in their opener
on June 13, lead the group with four points, against France on two.
The 2002 semifinalist will next meet Switzerland in their last group match,
while France, who bowed out of the 2002 World Cup without a goal, must win over
Togo to qualify for the knockout stage.
After Henry scored France's first World Cup goal off French soil in 20 years,
playmaker Zinedine Zidane will miss their last group match after picking up his
second yellow card in the first two matches.
Only nine minutes into the game, Sylvain Wiltord put Henry through to goal,
and the Arsenal skipper made no mistake in beating the South Korean goalkeeper
Lee Woon Jae.
The goal was the first for Henry in World Cup finals since June 18, 1998
against Saudi Arabia.
While the 2002 Korea/Japan World Cup witnessed a humiliating early exit of
former champions France without a goal, the 2006 World Cup in Germany saw a
goalless tie between France and Switzerland in their Group G opener.
The Koreans never backed down. In the 81st minute, Park Ji-sung grabbed the
equaliser as he got his toe on a ball that looped over goalkeeper Fabien
Barthez's reach and defender William Gallas failed to clear it on the line.
"I'm not satisfied with myself, but I'm satisfied with my team because we got
a point against a very strong French team," Park said.
On 32 minutes, Patrick Vieira's powerful downward header nearly gave France a
2-0 lead, but it was kick-saved by the keeper just on the line.
"They pushed and we were not able to retain the ball," said France coach
Raymond Domenech. "They wore us out. They're a solid team. After going 1-0 up we
were not quite good enough but we have a match left which we have to win to keep
hoping."
For his part, South Korea's Dutch coach Dick Advocaat was very upbeat, saying
that "In the second half we improved and as the game went on, sometimes we were
able to control it. From one of the few chances we had we scored, so we had a
bit of luck."
