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| Spanish lesson for Korea Republic |
| [ 2012-05-31 ] |
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| ⓒKFA |
Korea Republic fell to a 4-1 defeat at the hands of Spain on Wednesday, as the Taeguk Warriors warmed up against the world champions ahead of their final qualifying campaign for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
Kim Do-Heon cancelled out Fernando Torres’ opening goal with a thunderous strike on the stroke of halftime, before Xavi Alonso put his side ahead from the spot and Santi Cazorla doubled their advantage early in the second period. Substitute Alvaro Negredo then put the result beyond doubt with ten minutes remaining.
Coach Choi Kang-Hee gave third-choice goalkeeper Kim Jin-Hyeon his first start, while centre-back Lee Jung-Soo, wearing captain’s armband, marshalled the defence with Cho Yong-Hyung. With Choi Hyo-Jin and Switzerland-based full-back Park Joo-Ho on the flanks, wingers Nam Tae-Hee and Yeom Ki-Hun started alongside Kim Do-Heon and Koo Ja-Chel. Ji Dong-Won and Son Heung-Min led the attack up front.
The Spaniards made their intentions clear from the outset, with Torres flicking on to a cross-shot from Cazorla and then captain Alonso testing Kim Jin-Hyeon with a ferocious effort. Moments later, Torres opened the scoring with a backward header following a David Silva cross from the left.
The Koreans found themselves still on the back foot, as Cazorla and Silva tried their luck from distance midway through the first half. At the opposite end, Son broke free on the edge of the area before curling a tame shot just wide of the left post. But they did manage to draw level two minutes before the break, with Kim Do-Heon collecting a loose ball before unleashing an unstoppable drive past Pepe Reina.
However, Spain restored their lead seven minutes into the second half with Alonso converting a penalty after Cho Yong-Hyung had handled a goal-bound effort inside the area. Kim Do-Heon then committed another handball on the edge of the box, which resulted in a free-kick that Cazorla turned into a seemingly unassailable two-goal lead.
The match loosened with both sides making a series of changes around the hour mark, introducing no fewer than 11 new faces onto the pitch. But Negredo, one of the quadruple substitutions for the Spanish, had the final say as he latched on to a fine through ball from the right channel to make it 4-1 from close range.
Spain 4-1 Korea Republic
30 May 2012, Stade de Suisse, Bern
Scorers: Torres 11’, Alonso 52’ (pen), Cazorla 56’, Negredo 80’; Kim Do-Heon 43’
Caution: Cho Yong-Hyung 51’
Spain (4-5-1)
Reina (Casillas 80’); Arbeloa, Albiol, Ramos (Dominguez 57’), Monreal; Cazorla (Soldado 57’), Silva, Alonso (c, Soriano 65’), Beñat, Mata (Lopez 57’); Torres (Negredo 57’) / Coach: Vicente del Bosque
Korea Republic (4-4-2)
Kim Jin-Hyeon; Choi Hyo-Jin, Cho Yong-Hyung, Lee Jung-Soo (c), Park Joo-Ho;
Nam Tae-Hee (Kim Chi-Woo 62’), Kim Do-Heon (Oh Beom-Seok 80’), Koo Ja-Cheol (Kim Jae-Sung 73’), Yeom Ki-Hun (Kim Bo-Kyung 46’); Son Heung-Min (Park Hyun-Bem 57’), Ji Dong-Won (Lee Dong-Gook 57’) / Coach: Choi Kang-Hee
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