Lucky First Match, Korea Faces Poland in First Game

Unless the Korean team faced France in the opening game in the Confederation Cup last June, the result would have been noticeably different. Because it was the first game of the tournament, France played with the resolute will to win, and thus Korea was miserably defeated 0-5 in a nervous situation. Since then, Korea won two straight games against Mexico and Australia to record 2 wins and 1 loss, but it was eliminated in the first round.

On the other hand, Japan defeated 3-0 relatively weak opponent Canada in the first game, and it pushed inspired morale to win over Cameroon. And Japan made even 0-0 in last game with Brazil to record 2 wins and 1 draw.

Korea has undergone a similar situation so many times in previous World Cups. At its first appearance in the 1954 Swiss World Cup, Korea recorded a shameful 0-9 defeat by then-leading power of European soccer Hungary in the first game, which is the biggest score difference in the World Cup final history. In the 1986 Mexico World Cup in which it advanced to the finals for the first time in 32 years, the Korean team had a first match with the Argentine team to loss by 1-3. Since then, Korea has never faced a tractable team.

Only exception is the game with Spain in the 1994 US World Cup, which ended at 1-1. After that, Korea added a draw and a loss against Bolivia and Germany to set its best record in this event.

In that sense, the first round match-up of the 2002 World Cup is the best combination for Korea, which will face Poland, USA, and Portugal in order. Although Poland placed in 33rd in FIFA rankings is for sure an intractable European team, it is definitely not a team that Korea cannot win. And since Poland has never advanced to the World Cup finals since 1986, the starting members of the Korean team must been superior to the Polish players in experience in the World Cup finals.

If Korea wins Poland in the opening match, it will be able to keep its morale up to the games with USA and Portugal. In particular, the first-place candidate of D-group may concentrate on just maintaining their physical condition in last game with Korea more concerned with the second round. It means that Korea can enjoy the same luck as Japan did in the Confederation. Consequently, the first semi-quarter final appearance of Korea is up to the first game with Poland.

Bae Keuk-In bae2150@donga.com