S. Korea beats Saudi Arabia in World Cup qualifier to top Group B

RIYADH, Nov. 19 (Yonhap) -- South Korean soccer players defeated Saudi Arabia 2-0 Wednesday to remain on the top of their World Cup qualifying group, moving closer to the team's seventh straight appearance at the World Cup finals, in South Africa in 2010.

It is the first time since 1989 that South Korea's national squad beat Saudi
Arabia's.
Since that 2-0 victory in the World cup preliminary, South Korea has drawn three
times and lost three against the Saudis.
South Korea has seven points from two wins and one draw, followed by Iran with
five points from one win and two draws in Group B.
Saudi Arabia came in third with four points from a win and a draw and the United
Arab Emirates came in fourth with one point from one draw and three losses.
The first goal came in the 77th minute as K-League Daegu FC forward Lee Keun-ho
netted a goal past Saudi goalie Waleed Ali from a crossing by Manchester United
winger Park Ji-sung.
Substitute Park Chu-young of Seoul FC scored another goal in second half injury
time with a hard right-foot shot from near the penalty area.
In the 57th minute, Saudi striker Naif Hazazi was expelled as he got his second
yellow card from a simulation action in which he fell down in the face of South
Korean goalie Lee Woon-jae.
South Korean coach Huh Jung-moo expressed satisfaction with the young players he
picked up, saying, "Our players did the game exactly as we anticipated after
successfully overcoming a few crises in the first half."
Huh dismissed the complaint by the Saudi coach that the ouster of Hazazi served
as a turning point in favor of South Korea in the match.
"The umpire's decision should be respected, and you get to know better about the
situation if you watch a video footage," he said.