S. Korea down Paraguay 1-0 in friendly football match

SEOUL, Aug. 12 (Yonhap) -- South Korea beat Paraguay 1-0 in a friendly in Seoul Wednesday thanks to a last-minute goal by Park Chu-young, brightening the outlook for South Koreans at next year's World Cup finals in South Africa.

The South Korean squad, which secured its seventh consecutive berth to the World
Cup finals in June, played an exciting game with good moves in a friendly match
against the South American visitor at the Seoul World Cup Stadium, but failed to
score a goal until the 83rd minute.
Park, playing for French AS Monaco, penetrated to the goal area after Lee
Seung-hyun's shot rebounded and fired the ball through the net in the 83rd
minute. His goal led his team to beat Paraguay for the first time in five
encounters.
Without national football hero Park Ji-sung of Manchester United, the host team
created some favorable chances, but missed them as the Paraguayan goalkeeper
showed impressive saves.
South Korean midfielder Yeom Ki-hun's free kick shot, which bent over the wall
and headed to the left corner of the net, was blocked by goalie Justo Villar
before the end of the first half.
The unbeaten South Korean team finished the Asian qualifying round on top, while
North Korea, Australia and Japan also reached the finals. Paraguay stood third in
the ongoing qualifying round in South America, trailing Brazil and Chile.
The Asian football powerhouse is scheduled for friendlies against Australia in
September and Senegal in October in preparation for the World Cup finals.