Korea nips Burkina Faso, Saudi Arabia is up next

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Korea nips Burkina Faso, Saudi Arabia is up next

The Korean national soccer team beat Burkina Faso 1-0 in a friendly match held in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, on Sunday.
The decisive goal came from midfielder Kim Sang-sik, 10 minutes into the second half, with a left foot shot.
Coach Johannes Bonfrere gave less experienced players an opportunity to play the West Africans, without employing Lee Dong-gook and Kim Nam-il.
Burkina Faso is placed 84th in the FIFA ranking, while Korea is ranked 21st.
Since Mr. Bonfrere took over the Korean team in July 2004, it has recorded eight wins, five draws and three losses.
In the first half, the Korean team put a lot of pressure on its opponent, dominating play after barely escaping conceding a goal in the eighth minute, when a long-range shot by Burkina Faso bounced off the goal post.
The Korean team continued to apply the pressure, but Park Dong-hyuk’s free kick, Park Jae-hong’s header and Kim Dong-jin’s midrange shot all failed to score.
In the 24th minute, Lee Chun-soo crossed the ball to Namkung Do, but the opponent’s goalkeeper managed a save.
The Korean team seemed more focused in the second half. In the fifth minute, Chung Kyung-ho’s left foot attempt was slightly off the post.
In the 10th minute, Kim Dong-jin’s corner kick bounced off a defender and rolled in front of the goal box to Kim Sang-sik, who turned and sent the ball into the net with a blistering left foot shot.
The national team faces Saudi Arabia on Saturday in the qualifying match for the 2006 World Cup in Germany. “The players will train for a speedy offense against Saudi Arabia and prepare for aggressive defensive coverage,” Mr. Bonfrere said.
Park Ji-sung and Lee Young-pyo of PSV Eindhoven and Seol Ki-hyeon of Wolverhampton joined the camp yesterday.


by Limb Jae-un
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