Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Cheonan: Korea Republic continued to build towards the AFC Asian Cup Australia 2015 on Friday evening after beating Paraguay 2-0 in a friendly at the Cheonan Baekseok Stadium.
In what was new coach Uli Stielike's first game in charge since being named as the successor to Hong Myung-bo, the Taeguk Warriors got off to a strong start and controlled proceedings from the opening whistle.
They duly broke the deadlock in the 27th minute when Lee Chung-yong received possession down the right from a misdirected clearance and drilled in a low cross to Kim Min-woo, who managed to get the ball out from under his feet despite the close attentions of Pablo Aguilar before stroking his shot into the bottom corner.
Four minutes later, the hosts doubled their lead when Lee once again broke free and fed the ball to the overlapping Lee Yong, whose first-time delivery was stabbed home acrobatically at the near post by Nam Tae-hee.
Surprisingly lacklustre, the Paraguayans failed to offer much of a threat apart from a good effort by Nestor Ortigoza that forced Kim Jin-hyeon into a smart save, while Cho Young-cheol could have made it 3-0 before the break for Korea Republic only for the strike to be incorrectly ruled out for offside.
The South Koreans continued to create chances in the second half but were just unable to find the back of the net – Kim also having a goal rightfully chalked off on this occasion – although it mattered little as they went on to claim a comfortable victory.
Stielike's men are back in action next Tuesday when they take on Costa Rica at the Seoul World Cup Stadium, as they look towards next year's Asian Cup campaign which begins on January 10 when they take on Oman in Group A.
Photo: AFP