Ahn Jung-Hwan turned back the clock four years with a spectacular winning goal as Korea Republic came from behind for a 2-1 victory over ten-man Togo in their opening Group G match in Frankfurt on Tuesday.
Surprise semi-finalists in 2002, the South Koreans looked like they might suffer a taste of their own medicine when Togo, on their FIFA World Cup debut, took a 31st-minute lead through Mohamed Kader.
But after Jean-Paul Abalo's 53rd-minute dismissal, Lee Chun-Soo swept home the ensuing free-kick 60 seconds later before Ahn revived memories of his extra-time winner against Italy in 2002 with Korea Republic's second goal 18 minutes from time.
drunken_master
France are still without a goal in the World Cup finals since they won the trophy in 1998 following a 0-0 draw with Switzerland in Group G in Stuttgart on Tuesday.
Emmanuel Petit capped the 3-0 final win over Brazil in Paris eight years ago, but Les Bleus failed to find the net in their catastrophic title defence in Japan/Korea 2002.
And there was no way past Swiss goalkeeper Pascal Zuberbuhler here either as Raymond Domenech's side laboured in the heat.
In the first half, Switzerland's Tranquillo Barnetta came closest to scoring with a chipped free-kick which eluded everyone and struck a post but France had a good shout for a penalty turned down when Thierry Henry's shot clearly struck Patrick Muller's hand.
Henry fluffed a couple of chances after receiving superb passes from Zinedine Zidane, playing his last tournament before retiring.
The action was still slow-paced immediately after the restart but then both sides carved out a series of chances.
Philippe Senderos needed to make a saving tackle to deny Sylvain Wiltord a chance while at the other end Barnetta launched a daring raid down the left and centred towards Alex Frei only for Eric Abidal to make a vital interception for France.
Abidal then conceded a free-kick which Ludovic Magnin lined up for the Swiss but his ambitious shot was saved with a two-fisted punch from Fabien Barthez.
Soon after Barthez made a vital save to thwart substitute Daniel Gygax's header from a Magnin cross at the far post.
Substitutions and hopeful Zidane crosses characterised the closing stages but France almost stole victory when Vikash Dhorasoo flashed a right-foot shot across goal in the 90th minute.
And in added time Frei tried to punch in a free-kick and collected the eighth booking of the game from Russian referee Valentin Ivanov.
drunken_master
France's disappointing World Cup debut made the cover of nearly all the country's major newspapers on Wednesday, with the press decrying the team's lackluster performance and even comparing the aging players to the Rolling Stones.
Les Bleus drew 0-0 against rival Switzerland in first round play on Tuesday, bringing back memories of the team's early exit from the last tournament four years ago, in which the then-holders didn't score a goal.
The match also evoked comparisons with the "Rolling Stones on their farewell tour," according to an article in Le Parisien daily, which noted that five of the team's players _ including captain Zinedine Zidane - are 32 or older.
Zidane, who helped lead France to victory in the 1998 World Cup, was looking visibly exasperated on the cover of the free daily 20 Minutes, which ran a headline saying the team was off "on the wrong foot."
Several papers criticised coach Raymond Domenech, who insisted that players' age was not a factor and tried to highlight the positive aspects of the match.
Some of the players echoed their coach, saying that all that was missing was a goal.
Such a logic "escapes the spectators," said Le Parisien, which ran under the tongue-and-cheek headline: "They find themselves good!"
"The match that should have kicked off the adventure didn't kick anything at all," said sports daily L'Equipe, adding that France is the only one of the top eight seeds not to have won its first game.
Even France's sports minister acknowledged being "a little" disappointed in Les Bleus, but insisted he was keeping the faith.
"We believe, we believe," said Jean-Francois Lamour.
drunken_master
Park Ji-Sung scored a late goal as South Korea came from a goal down to claim an unlikely draw with France.
The French led early on thanks to Thierry Henry and were in total control of the contest, but they were caught by a sucker punch as Park lofted a shot over Fabien Barthez with ten minutes remaining to stun Les Bleus.
France were disappointing against Switzerland in their opener, but seemed on course for three points on Sunday from the moment Henry fired them ahead on nine minutes.
However, they failed to kill off a lacklustre South Korea and were made to pay the penalty when Park popped up late in the day.
It took almost eight years, but France finally emerged from their World Cup slumber nine minutes into their second game.
France's last goal at a World Cup finals was Emmanuel Petit's effort in the 1998 final, as they failed to score in any of their three games four years ago and were held by Switzerland last week.
And it was perhaps appropriate that Henry was the man to break the deadlock, as it is felt that if France are to prosper then the Arsenal man will have to shine.
France looked far sharper than against the Swiss, with Sylvain Wiltord seeing a shot saved by Lee Woon-jae and Florent Malouda shooting wide.
The Koreans failed to heed the warnings as a Wiltord pass sliced open their defence and Henry sped onto the ball before slotting comfortably past Lee Woon-jae.
The Koreans found it tough to impose themselves on the game and France's first moment of alarm came via the head of William Gallas. A hopeful ball looked to hold no threat, but Gallas looped his header over Fabien Barthez and, thankfully for Les Bleus, wide of the post.
France were not rocked by the scare, as Zinedine Zidane and Malouda went close with presentable chances.
Patrick Vieira is not famed for his goalscoring, but he should have had his name on the scoresheet just past the half-hour mark as he met cleanly with a header from a Zidane corner. Korea keeper Lee Woon-jae appeared to be well behind the line when getting a palm on the ball, but the officials failed to award the goal and, rather surprisingly, the French players hardly raised a protest.
Korea failed to carve out a chance in open play in the first half, but they came close to levelling the scores just before the break as Lee Chun-soo's free kick drifted through a crowd of players and flew agonisingly wide of the far post.
The pattern of play continued after the interval, with Zidane prompting the tempo from midfield, and Wiltord fired out a warning when shooting wide from 25 yards.
Malouda missed the opening game due to injury and his inclusion certainly added a touch of spark to the France attack. He continually linked up well with Henry and Wiltord, although his shooting lacked accuracy on a number of occasions.
Such was France's dominance that full back Willy Sagnol attempted to get in on the scoring act as he flew forward before having his shot blocked.
South Korea's dearth of quality did little to inspire Les Bleus, as Raymond Domenech's men controlled the centre of the park without seeing the need to go for the jugular.
Malouda volleyed narrowly wide from 35 yards, while Franck Ribery shot over as France dominated without pressing home their advantage and they were made to pay for not trying to kill off the contest.
The arrival of Ahn Jung-hwan inspired Korea for the second game in succession and the Asian nation duly drew level ten minutes from time.
Seol Ki-hyeon galloped down the right and picked out Cho Jae-jin with a deep cross. The striker had done nothing for the previous 79 minutes, but he put the ball on a plate for Park and he deftly lobbed the ball over a previously untroubled Barthez.
The goal brought about a change in tempo and Vieira lashed wildly over, while Henry shot straight at Lee Woon-jae following a fine pass from Zidane.
The faster pace suited the Koreans and Seol Ki-hyeon had a powerful shot blocked, and they stood firm in the face of a late France onslaught to claim a point.
The draw leaves Group G wide open, but France will know that they almost certainly need to beat Togo in their last match to stand any chance of progressing and they will have to do so without Zidane who picked up his second caution of the competition on Sunday.
drunken_master
In a game vitally important to both sides’ 2006 FIFA World Cup™ aspirations, Switzerland meet Togo in Dortmund today (Monday) in a Group G encounter.
Jakob 'Kobi' Kuhn’s men are undoubtedly the pre-match favourites and will be determined to build on their hard-fought 0-0 draw against European neighbours France by taking all three points against the Sparrowhawks.
However, the West African side, led by experienced the German Otto Pfister, are certainly no pushovers. On their FIFA World Cup™ debut, the Togolese can consider themselves unlucky to have fallen to a narrow 2-1 opening defeat against Korea Republic.
The presence of Arsenal striker Emmanuel Adebayor, who bristled with menace and guile against Koreans, means Togo pose a constant threat and will rightly consider themselves to have a realistic chance of pulling off a shock result.
With an average age of 25.8 and 25.9 respectively, Switzerland and Togo are the second and third-youngest teams at the finals. The Dortmund crowd could therefore be forgiven for nurturing hopes of an entertaining encounter, full of youthful exuberance and fearless attacking play.
Switzerland looked defensively solid in their first outing at the tournament, and might well have beaten 1998 champions France with a little more luck.
Kuhn’s publicly-declared goal is to guide his youthful ensemble to a peak in two years time when the Swiss co-host the UEFA European Championship in 2008, and the evidence to date suggests his men already pose a real threat to the established pecking order.
The head coach has, though, ordered his men not to surrender possession in midfield as cheaply as they did in their opening encounter with the Les Bleus, thought this was blamed afterwards on nerves and the energy-sapping heat.
In fact, Kuhn fears the temperature could again play a part on Monday and even place his side at a disadvantage against the Africans, with Switzerland's match having again been allocated the 3pm kick-off slot.
In terms of team selection, Valon Behrami (groin) and Ludovic Magnin (ankle) are rated doubtful, although on the plus side, Philipp Degen has declared himself fit despite a painful toe injury.
The turbulence which has rocked the Togo camp since the beginning of the finals continues to rumble in the background, but Pfister and his men will nevertheless hope to pick up where they left off against the Taeguk Warriors and make life similarly difficult for the Europeans.
However, the Sparrowhawks’ defence has been severely hit by injury and suspension. Inspirational skipper Jean-Paul Abalo is suspended after being sent off in the opening match, while Ludovic Assemoassa - a potential replacement - has been ruled out with a knee injury.
VHAMBLIDINHO
Switzerland surged to top of Group G with a convincing 2-0 win over Togo in Dortmund on Monday, which leaves the Helvetians leading the section on goal difference.
Victory was secured by goals from Alexander Frei and Tranquillo Barnetta in the 16th and 88th minute respectively, the second of which took Kobi Kuhn's side clear of Korea Republic by a single goal.
All the Swiss now need is a point against Dick Advocaat's Taeguk Warriors to guarantee their place in the last 16.
Togo, though impressive in flashes, could have few complaints at surrendering all three points, and Otto Pfister's side remain without a point and anchored to the bottom of a group in which Switzerland and Korea both lead on four points from France, who have two.
Switzerland moved to the top of Group G with this 2-0 victory.
Their four-point haul from their opening two games was equal to that of Korea Republic, but Kuhn’s men moved ahead of the Asian nation on goal difference.
The result also ensured that Togo cannot qualify for the Round of 16.
drunken_master
Goals from Philippe Senderos and Alexandr Frei clinched a 2-0 win for Switzerland over Korea Republic in Hanover on 23 June and secured top spot for Kobi Kuhn’s side in Group G.
The result, combined with France’s 2-0 win over Togo, leaves Dick Advocaat’s Taeguk Warriors facing an earlier-than-expected journey home, while the Swiss march on to a Round of 16 clash with Group H runners-up Ukraine in Cologne on 26 June.
Korea Republic may, however, consider themselves unfortunate having contributed significantly to this competitive and entertaining encounter, although the Swiss did create the game’s better chances and were more clinical in front of goal, with Frei in particular a constant threat.
Kuhn’s side finish on the summit of Group G with seven points, followed by France on five, Korea Republic on four, with Togolese, who go home without a point to their name but with pride intact, in fourth position.
The win sees Switzerland through to the Round of 16 for the first time since 1994, where they will face a tough test against Ukraine.
Brave Korea and their wonderful fans will sadly be heading for home as France’s win in the other group match against Togo sees Raymond Domenech's side through to the knockout stages as runners-up.
They will square off against high-flying Spain.
drunken_master
France advanced to a Round of 16 meeting with Spain after second-half goals from Patrick Vieira and Thierry Henry secured a 2-0 victory over Togo in Cologne on Friday.
After a frustrating first half of missed chances, Vieira marked his 30th birthday with the breakthrough goal after 55 minutes.
Henry added France's second six minutes later to give France the win they needed to progress as the second-placed team in Group G behind Switzerland.
France, whose success here was their first on the world stage since the 1998 Final, will play Spain in Hanover on 27 June. As for Togo, they return home without a point from their first FIFA World Cup campaign.
France got the FIFA World Cup victory they have been waiting eight years for, meaning they finished as runners-up behind Switzerland in Group G and they will now face Spain in Hannover in the Round of 16 on Tuesday.
Togo, beset by internal problems, head home after three straight defeats.
