South Korea coach Huh Jung-moo felt thorough preparations paid dividends as they defeated Greece in their opening match.
Asians put in professional performance to earn victory
South Korea coach Huh Jung-moo felt his team's thorough preparations paid dividends as they defeated Greece in their opening World Cup match.
The Koreans' convincing 2-0 victory in their Group B curtain raiser at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium saw Jung-moo's team earn three richly deserved points after goals from Lee Jung-soo and Park Ji-sung sunk a lacklustre Greek side.
Jung-soo pounced at the far past after only seven minutes to punish some slack marking to give his side the lead before Ji-sung cashed in on a horrible error from Loukas Vyntra to jink past the defence and slot home the winner.
The goals were uncharacteristic from the 2004 European champions' point of view, however Jung-moo felt his charges were rewarded for their meticulous planning prior to the match.
He said: "The first game is always difficult, my team played well, we prepared thoroughly.
"Our main strategy was looking at Greece's set-pieces.
Honoured
"If we had been a little calmer we could have perhaps scored more goals."
The win provided a massive boost to the Asian country's hopes of making the knockout phase, with Argentina and Nigeria waiting in their remaining group fixtures.
The Koreans basked in their victory and looked akin to the side that shocked the international football scene when they made the final four of the competition they co-hosted in 2002.
The result left Manchester United star Ji-sung delighted after he grabbed the winning goal, although he paid tribute to his team-mates as they topped the group, at least temporarily.
He said: "This was my third World Cup goal and it makes me very honoured but ultimately it's down to the team winning.
"We had a good result today, and as this is the first World Cup in Africa I'm thrilled."
