Germany ended South Korea’s World Cup fairytale run when they beat the co-hosts 1-0 in an enthralling semi-final battle on Tuesday.
Germany now have a chance to equal Brazil’s record of four World Cup titles when they play in the final in Yokohama on Sunday against the winner of the Brazil-Turkey semi-final on Wednesday.
Victory came in the 75th minute when Oliver Neuville burst down the right on a quick break.
His low cross caught the stretched Korean defence asleep and Michael Ballack fired in from close range. Lee Woon-Jae got down but the ball rebounded off his body and this time Ballack made no mistake as he hit home.
But the Bayern Leverkusen player will not have the satisfaction of playing the final. Four minutes earlier he collected his second yellow of the knock-out stage when he tripped Lee Chun-Soo and was automatically banned for one match.
Defender defender Christoph Metzelder said solid defensive play had been the key to the victory and to their run to the final in which they only conceded a single goal.
”Our secret was the four-man backline which doesn’t always work but it did tonight,” he said. ”It was hard work against this opponent. We’ll definitely be having have a few drinks to celebrate.”
For the battered and bruised Koreans, the match proved one too many. Their giant-killing performances to knock out Portugal, Italy and Spain had taken their physical toll as they tried to become the first ever Asian side to go into a World Cup final.
But the Koreans answered their critics who had claimed their wins over Spain and Italy was due to biased refereeing.
Switzerland referee Urs Meier did the home side no favours but still Germany found themselves on the rack for long portions of the game.
A brilliant jinking run by Seol Ki-Hyeon in the 90th minute turned the German defence inside out but dreams of a dramatic last gasp equaliser to take the match into extra time vanished when Park Ji-Sung squandered the opportunity, blasting over the bar high and wide.
When the final whistle blew Germany burst into celebration while the Korean team collapsed on the pitch – exhausted and bitterly disappointed their stunning World Cup run had come to an end.
But the famed Red Devils roared out their approval as the Korean team, finally walked slowly up and down the pitch, applauding the fanatical fans.
The Red Devils had made a mockery of Fifa’s ticketing policy of only giving each country eight per cent of the 60 000 plus tickets available. Over 50 000 of the crowd were decked out in Korean red.
But none of the Koreans could complain about the result. The Germans took their one vital chance while South Korea didn’t.
But coach Rudi Voller cannot be happy at what he saw from a team that faces either Brazil or Turkey for the most glittering prize in football.
The German aerial attack failed to shake the Korean defence. Klose had a chance in the 63rd minute from a quick centre from Ballack but, unsettled by Lee Ming-Sung, who came on for an exhausted Choi Jin-Cheul early in the second half, his header lacked any power and Lee had no trouble plucking it out of the air.
A minute later there was a chance for Ahn Jung-Hwan, who was sent on in the 54th minute by Dutch coach Guus Hiddink, when he twisted his way past a slow German defence but his shot spun hide and wide.
Voller, visibly fustrated on the touchline by his forwards inability to force a save from Lee, pulled off Klose and replaced him by Monaco striker Oliver Bierhoff.
As the match wore on the Koreans continued to rattle the Germans. A long range attempt from Song Chong-Gug forced Kahn to dive low to his left to save.
But the Germans were clearly the stronger side – Korea’s gruelling extra-time clash with Spain only four days ago had taken its toll. – Sapa-AFP