North Korean striker Jong Tae-se was battling with a throng of reporters in the bowels of Seoul World Cup Stadium after the 0-0 World Cup qualification draw. He was obviously not enjoying himself. No sooner had he been presented with a bunch of CDs from South Korea’s finest bands, he then had to field questions such as “Have you been to Lotte World?” The Kawasaki Frontale goalgetter grimaced, closed his eyes, and replied that he had not, in fact, seen the theme park in south-east of Seoul. “The People’s Rooney” is a star in the south and obviously unused to the attention of the press. The same could be same about defenders. Watched more carefully than before, Jong battled hard but got little change out of Lee Jung-soo and Kang Min-soo in the centre of the home backline. It was a friendly occasion. The home fans applauded the northern anthem, one of the very few times it has been heard in public south of the 38th Parallel. The match was played in good spirits though at the end it was noticeable that, unlike at Shanghai on March 26, the DPRK players applauded their fans only and not the Red Devils. The Taeguk Warriors paid respects to both sets of fans. The game was dull. North Korea preserved their impressive record of not conceding a goal in the group. The closest that came to being ruined was in the second half when Park Chu-young missed a glorious chance near the penalty spot. The visitors threatened little. Jung was quiet as was Hong Yong-jo. Ri Kwang Chon went the closest with a second half header. That was about as exciting as it got the 48,000 fans in the stadium. 40,000 tickets had been sold relatively quickly but once it became apparent that both teams had already qualified for the next stage, not many more people thought that traveling to the north-west edge of Seoul for a game that would finish around 10 pm on a Sunday was something they wanted to do. North Koreans can be surly visitors. At the airport, just a few ‘nice to meet yous’ and ‘we will do our bests’ and that is it as far as talking to the media is concerned until after the match itself. If you have a chance to chat to the DPRK’s overseas players individually, not possible while they are on national team duty in the south, they are friendly and full of questions but as a team, they give as much away off the pitch as the defence does on it. Due to the unique political situation between the two nations, arranging such games is a headache, especially for officials south of the border. Multiple meetings take place in Kaesong to thrash things out but even just four days before kick-off, a KFA official told me that he thought the North Koreans would ‘probably’ come. So, the thought of doing it all again would probably not be well-received in Seoul or Pyongyang. Maybe Jong will have to wait a little longer to sample the delights of ‘Lotte World.’ Copyright: John Duerden & Soccerphile.com Bet with Bet 365 World Soccer News Soccer betting tips Soccer Books & DVDs Tags Soccer News soccer football J-League K-League Betting

Russia coach Guus Hiddink paid tribute to his Spanish counterpart Luis Aragones here Wednesday on the eve of their Euro 2008 semi-final.

Russia forward Andrei Arshavin is well up to handling all the interest from media and clubs triggered by his starring role in his country´s journey to the Euro 2008 semi-finals, coach Guus Hiddink stressed on Wednesday.

Arsenal’s manager Arsene Wenger has tipped Germany to beat Spain in Sunday’s Euro 2008 final in Vienna.

Germany captain Michael Ballack says his side must use the confidence from their 3-2 quarter-final win over Portugal to knock out comeback kings Turkey on Wednesday in order to reach the Euro 2008 final.

Russia will do everything in their power to avoid the defeat they suffered against Spain in their opening game, in order to advance to the final of Euro 2008.

Germany and Turkey are facing off in the first of two Euro 2008 semi finals and will battle for one spot in the final. SoccerWay keeps you up to date.

Russia coach Guus Hiddink, recalling the hazardous qualification route his team suffered to get to Vienna, insisted he was keeping his feet firmly on the ground ahead of Thursday´s Euro 2008 semi-final with Spain.

Villarreal forward Santi Cazorla is quickly becoming the revelation of Spain´s run into the latter stages of Euro 2008 and the team´s players agreed that he is a player who could make the difference.

Hope turned to sadness for Germany´s huge Turkish minority as their team were denied a place in the finals of the Euro 2008 football championship by none other than their host country.

Luis Aragones insisted on the eve of Spain´s crucial Euro 2008 quarter-final against Russia on Thursday that he has no need to change his winning side.

Germany are the first team to qualify for the final of Euro 2008 after a 3-2 win over Turkey in a more than entertaining semi final clash.

Defender Philipp Lahm´s late strike put three-times European champions Germany in Sunday´s Euro 2008 final and sealed a 3-2 win to knock out injury-ravaged Turkey on Wednesday night.

He may refuse to believe in them, but Turkey coach Fatih Terim´s team almost pulled off another miracle as the Euro 2008 come-back kings finally made their exit on Wednesday.

Turkey coach Fatih Terim is set to coach a European club side next season he revealed after his side pushed three-time champions Germany to the limit in their Euro 2008 3-2 defeat in the semi-final on Wednesday.

Defender Philipp Lahm´s late strike put three-times European champions Germany in Sunday´s Euro 2008 final and sealed a 3-2 win to knock out injury-ravaged Turkey.

Liga de Quito are close to winning their first Copa Libertadores title following a 4-2 win over Fluminense in the first final leg.

Spanish giants FC Barcelona have shown interest in Russia and Zenit attacker Andrei Arshavin.

Turkey goalkeeper Rüstü Reçber will not be available for the national team any longer. This was announced on the website of UEFA.