Today's Portugal v North Korea clash inevitably ignites memories of that crazy quarter-final in 1966 when lightning almost struck twice. The North Koreans, leaving their closed country for the first time, had found a home away from home in Middlesbrough, especially after their unexpected 1-0 win over the fancied Italians. Asian soccer had been unleashed on a world unprepared for it, and the wow factor only increased after they ran into a 3-0 first-half lead against probably the most talented team in the tournament, Portugal. Fans like my father who were at Wembley to watch England play Argentina, could not believe their eyes as the updates from the other quarter-final at Goodison Park showed the minnows were tearing apart one of the tournament favourites. Alas for the hysterical neutrals, the Koreans' cavalier attacking style was outsmarted in the second half by a more wily team with an almost unplayable ace in Eusebio, who bagged four goals in a stunning comeback to send Portugal through 5-3 . The clash of soccer cultures and playing styles that day in Liverpool was the epitome of what the World Cup is about on the field. Would that today's reunion of the nations in Cape Town were as thrilling as that unforgettable match 44 years ago. (c) Sean O'Conor & Soccerphile Tags World Cup Pens World Cup Posters World Cup football

North Korea launched its official World Cup song which has already rocketed to the tops of the charts in Pyongyang. A stirring orchestral number, the song praises the hard work and socialist dedication on behalf of the team in reaching only its second World Cup after its heroics at the 1966 tournament in England. Tags World Cup Pens World Cup Posters World Cup football

There were few eyebrows raised earlier this summer when South Korea clinched a place at the 2010 World Cup. After all, the Taeguk Warriors had qualified for the previous six global tournaments; a seventh successive spot was impressive but not especially newsworthy. But North Korea making a second ever appearance at the World Cup? Now that is a little different and made headlines from Argentina to Zimbabwe. The first time round, it all happened in England in 1966. The unfancied north-east Asians shocked the soccer world by defeating the mighty Italians 1-0. The Azzurri returned home to be pelted by tomatoes at the airport while North Korea progressed to a quarterfinal against Portugal.

For South Korea, the 2010 World Cup qualification campaign is almost over and first place in the group guaranteed. There is still one act to be played out however and it promises to be an intriguing one. The final game takes place on Wednesday. South Korea have bagged the first of two automatic qualification spots which leaves one up for grabs. There are three teams that would very much like to take that second slot, third place is not the end of the world as it offers a play-off route to South Africa. Fourth equals nothing. The Taeguk Warriors will have a big say in just who gets what. At the moment, North Korea is in second with eleven points, above Saudi Arabia on goal difference while Iran is in fourth and just a point behind. But it really is anybody’s place. North Korea travels to Saudi Arabia for the last match while Iran comes to Seoul led by Afshin Ghotbi, a former assistant coach of the South Korean national team.

The Group of Death doesn’t seem so scary after all – though the supposed nightmare is only half over. With four down and four to go in the final round of qualification for the 2010 World Cup, South Korea sits on top of Group Two with eight points. The latest point of the octet came courtesy of a 1-1 draw against Iran in Tehran on Wednesday evening. The hard part is over – or it should be. Three times have South Korea ventured overseas to the home of its three biggest rivals Saudi Arabia, Iran and North Korea (Ok, that game was played in Shanghai and not Pyongyang) and the Taeguk Warriors came away with a win and two draws. With three of the remaining four matches to take place at Sangam, Huh Jung-moo’s men are on course for a seventh successive appearance on the global stage. Prior to the match in Tehran, there had been much talk in the media beforehand, more than is usual in Asian football. A lot of it came from the Iranian side, a symptom perhaps of the host’s greater need to win. Whatever the reason, Korea, as the cliché goes, did its talking on the pitch. It may not have been especially articulate or make for pleasant listening but it was full of passion and a statement was made. It was a deserved point for the visitors. Park Ji-sung, who scored his second goal in three games for the national team, headed home with nine minutes left after Javad Nekounam had put Iran ahead with a fantastic free-kick 20 minutes earlier. It doesn’t mean that a place in South Africa is a given. Much work is still to be done but coach Huh Jung-moo would have definitely accepted an offer of eight points from the first four games if such a offer had been on the table a few months ago. "It is only half-time,” said the happy Huh as he stepped through the arrivals gate at Incheon International Airport on Friday. “It was a tough game but it is behind us now. We are focused on the task ahead. The good thing about the games that we have played so far is that injuries have given the younger players a chance and they have grown as players as a result.” We are now looking at the game against North Korea. We will do our best to prepare well. The team may be a defensive one but it does have the likes of Jong Tae-se and Hong Yong-jo in attack.” For fans of the beautiful game in the Korean peninsula, it was a good week. Before the Tehran tussle, North Korea defeated traditional Asian powerhouse Saudi Arabia 1-0 in Pyongyang to take second place in the group. It was an insipid performance by the visitors in the Kim Il Sung stadium, though the various layers of clothing worn couldn’t have helped. If the qualifying stage ended now, the two Koreas would be heading to the 2010 World Cup. For North Korea it would be only a second appearance at the global tournament and if the teams from both sides of the 38th Parallel made it to the world cup, one can only imagine the effect it would have on the Seoul media. Offices in Yeoido and Gwanghwamun would explode. The Taeguk Warriors are not in action for the next round of qualification on March 28.The players will be able to take a rest and watch rivals do battle elsewhere. Saudi Arabia, who sits in fourth place with four points, travels to Iran where another defeat will almost certainly end chances of a fifth successive World Cup. South Korea would be delighted for the Saudis to take a point from that match. On the same evening, North Korea hosts bottom team UAE. A win for DPRK would likely see the team go top of the group. That would set things up nicely for a game in Seoul three days later between north and south. It will be some game. Copyright: John Duerden & Soccerphile Bet with Bet 365 World Soccer News Soccer betting tips Soccer Books & DVDs Tags Soccer News soccer football J-League K-League Betting

There was no Shanghai Surprise . The only surprise was that some thought it was going to be any different. It could have been worse though, that was the one consolation for the few South Korean fans who, late Wednesday evening, had sat through a typically turgid Korean Derby. 1-1 was the score between the near neighbors in their 2010 World Cup qualification match in China. There were less than 1,000 fans present in Shanghai's Hongkou Stadium - a far cry from the 25,000 plus that watched March's match. Apart from the loss of the novelty factor as well as the will to live, the main reason for the difference in the fact that North Korea hiked ticket prices by around 500% for the cheapest tickets -the 'hosts'(the game had been moved from Pyongyang to Shanghai after communist authorities in North Korea refused to fly the southern flag and play the anthem) didn't want their fans to be as heavily outnumbered as before. The tie was the fourth straight stalemate between the two rivals in 2008 alone but after Hong Yong-jo shot the northern team ahead from the penalty spot in the second half, the Taeguk Warriors were relieved to come away from China with a point. That came courtesy of teenage midfielder Ki Sung-yung. The FC Seoul player is nicknamed ‘South Korea’s Gerrard’ due to his supposed resemblance to the Liverpool and England star and he showed why after 68 minutes. Chesting down a high ball, the 19 year-old, standing at the edge of the area, swiveled and then volleyed into the bottom corner. The smattering of southern-supporting fans didn’t care that opposition goalkeeper Ri Myung-guk really should have saved, rather than fell over, the low shot. Four minutes earlier, Hong had put the 1966 World Cup quarter-finalists ahead after he was fouled by southern skipper Kim Nam-il. The busy and speedy Hong was the best player on the pitch and is one that would be welcomed by coach Huh Jung-moo if he ever decided to defect. If he wants World Cup football, he may find that staying north of the 38th Parallel is a better bet. North Korea sits proudly on top of Group Two with four points from two games, following an impressive 2-1 win in the UAE four days previously. South Korea has one from one and nerves are jangling. The Seoul media was universally negative about the performance with the word of the night being ‘frustrating’. The headline of the night read: “This isn’t the football we were promised.” The promised land of South Africa less than two years from now is not an automatic destination for South Korea – it is going to take more inspiration that was on display in China to get there. Coach Huh knows that he is a man under pressure to get a win at home to UAE in Seoul in October. Huh pointed to the fact that not only was his team missing European-based players such as Park Ji-sung, Lee Young-pyo and Seol Ki-hyeon but just before Wednesday’s match, two-thirds of his forward line, Shin Young-rok and Lee Chung-young were ruled out through injury. "The sudden injury problems had an influence on the game and put pressure on the players," Huh after the match. "I am not satisfied with the performance or the result. It was a tough game because of their defence. We knew it would be hard to break down and we tried our best." Later, Huh tried to look on the bright side. "It's not a bad result all in all. There will be wins and losses in football. I think we have the ability to be a strong side and the players are more than capable." They are more than capable of defeating UAE in Seoul next month. Failure to do so may not mean the end of World Cup hopes but would almost certainly mean the end of Huh Jung-moo. 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

South Korea restarts its journey on the road to South Africa and the 2010 World Cup tonight in Shanghai. Pyongyang was supposed to be the location but the qualifier against North Korea has been moved to China as the communist authorities in the DPRK capital refused to fly the Taegukki or play the Aegukga. It is the final round of qualification for the quadrennial football-fest. South Korea has participated in the last six tournaments and failure to make it a magnificent seventh doesn’t bear thinking about for footy-lovers in a nation that is currently bananas about baseball. The loss of prestige, sponsorships, experience, money and jobs would hit Korean football hard. Ten Asian nations, in football terms this includes Australia, have been split into two groups of five. The top two in each group automatically book their berths in South Africa. The two third-place teams face each other for the right to take on Oceania’s representative, probably New Zealand, in a winners-takes-all play-off match. On paper, North Korea is the weakest team in the group but it won 2-1 against the UAE in Abu Dhabi last weekend to get its campaign off to a good start. Iran and Saudi Arabia are the other two members of the group and drew 1-1 in Riyadh. Against North Korea tonight and the next match, at home to UAE in October, the 2002 World Cup semi-finalists need to get some points on the board before the two toughest tests –long and tricky trips to Tehran and Riyadh. That is in the future. Now is all about the North Koreans. Unlike the general populace either side of the 38th Parallel, the respective sets of players know each other very well. After not playing at all from 1993-2002, there have been three Korean Derbies so far in 2008 alone. All three finished in ties and while a similar result in Shanghai wouldn’t be a disaster, it would be slightly disappointing. Coach Huh Jung-moo wants victory. “It is always the same before a big game, we are naturally looking for the win,” Huh told reporters. “As the first game of the final round of qualifying, a victory against North Korea would mean a lot.” The squad he has selected may not feature European stars such as Manchester United’s Park Ji-sung, Seol Ki-hyeon of Fulham, Borussia Dortmund’s Lee Young-pyo and Park Chu-young of AS Monaco but it does look fresh, young and, dare one say, almost exciting. A 1-0 victory in Seoul against Jordan last Friday in a warm-up match wasn’t bad at all –though there were few fans there to witness it. There was some slick passing, nice moves and encouraging performances especially from the twinkle-toed teenager Lee Chung-young. The FC Seoul star scored his first goal in the national shirt and is steadily becoming one of the stars of the soccer scene in South Korea. “It is frustrating that we didn’t score more goals,” coach Huh said after the match. “The players also know that they need to try and score more goals. It was a good workout for us before the North Korea match. Now we are looking forward what should be a good game.” It probably won’t be. The two meetings in the previous round of qualification which took place in March and June respectively produced a total of no goals and not many more opportunities. North Korea is a team that defends and defends well and it showed against UAE that it can also be ruthless in attack - something that southern strikers have not been accused of for some time. But even so, a poor result and the pressure will be on coach Huh for the visit of UAE to Seoul in October. If that poor result stretches into a poor start, his job will be on the line. Even a defeat in Shanghai will start nerves jangling inside the Korean Football Association. The hard work starts now. 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

Another weekend gone and one more match closer to the 2010 World Cup. June is almost over and a place in the final round of world cup qualification is assured. It is time to take stock of a busy period that has raised a number of questions. The main issue is how the Taeguk Warriors will fare against stronger opposition when the action resumes in September. On Friday, the ten Asian teams that survived the just-finished third round will be split into two groups of five. The top two from each group will automatically book their places in South Africa. The two third-placed teams play-off for the right to face Oceania’s representative –the winner of that match goes to the World Cup. Confused? Well, then you know how the Korean defence has felt on a regular basis in the past few weeks. At times the backline has struggled against the attacks of Turkmenistan and Jordan, so it is worrying to consider what may happen against the craft of the Japanese, the speed of the Saudis or the skill of the Iranians. On the face of it six games in Group Three and a record of three wins and three draws is perfectly acceptable but it doesn’t tell the whole story. February It all started well with a 4-0 thrashing of Turkmenistan in Seoul. English-based stars Park Ji-sung and Seol Ki-hyeon starred. It was the perfect start though the media was concerned at how much better the overseas stars were than the K-Leagues. March The press was singing, along with the coach, a different tune at the end of March after a dull goalless draw against North Korea in Shanghai. This time Seol, as well as fellow London resident, Lee Young-pyo were partly blamed by the press and the boss for the unimaginative display. May The low point of the six games was the last 20 minutes against Jordan in Seoul on May 31. Cruising 2-0 against the West Asians, Jordan took advantage of some poor goalkeeping and defending to pull a goal back. Then everything went wrong and the team fell to pieces. In the end, it was almost a relief to tie 2-2 against a team then ranked 104 in the world by FIFA. The next day, coach Huh Jung-moo irresponsibly placed part of the blame on goalkeeper Kim Yong-dae. He also suggested that the Korean Football Association (KFA) should lift the ban on veteran shotstopper Lee Woon-jae. Lee’s late-night drinking exploits during the 2007 Asian Cup earned himself a 12-month enforced absence from the national team which ends in November. The KFA said it was too early. Huh said he never made the request anyway and it was all the media’s work. June It hadn’t been a good 48 hours for Korean football but to the team’s credit, it bounced back and won 1-0 in Jordan a week later. The performance wasn’t great, the defense again looked shaky but it was a good win in a tough environment. The same could be said of the 3-1 victory against Turkmenistan a week later. The team scored its only goal of the group against the Koreans and caused the visitors more trouble than it really should have been allowed to, but the hat-trick from Park Ji-sung replacement Kim Do-heon picked up another three points. Then came a second goalless draw at home against the North Koreans in Seoul, a dull game against a defensive-minded team. Next… There is work to do, starting on Friday when the identities of South Korea’s four opponents in the final stage will be revealed. The last time that South Korea failed to reach the World Cup was back in 1982, and hard work and a little imagination is needed to ensure that unwanted history is not made. 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

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

The Rainy Season arrived in Seoul on Wednesday, 24 hours before the North Koreans were due to touch down. Skies above the peninsula were more threatening than a Dutch counter-attack. The ‘Sunshine Policy’ of recent South Korean governments in regards to the communist North Korea had its critics who claimed that all the warmth was flowing one-way only. Last weekend however, the roles were reversed as the North Korean national soccer team did its southern counterpart a big favor during qualification for the 2010 World Cup. Fans in Seoul will get a chance to show their appreciation on Sunday night as north and south do battle at the Seoul World Cup Stadium. DPRK defeated Jordan 2-0 in Pyongyang early last Saturday evening. That result meant that the team was certain of a top two finish in Group Three and a place in the final round of qualification which starts in September. It also ensured that it would be joined by South Korea. It was a pleasant piece of news for the Taeguk Warriors four hours before they took the field against Turkmenistan. The fact that both Koreas are through with one game to spare in Group Three means that Sunday’s match will be lacking a competitive edge that could otherwise have made it very interesting. The two coaches won’t mind that one bit. It is an extra game and a welcome chance to iron out some of the rough spots that had become apparent during the previous four matches. For the south, there was another bonus against Turkmenistan – the three goals from midfielder Kim Do-heon. It was a ray of sunshine at the end of a week that had seen Park Ji-sung experience knee problems. Kim, drafted into the team to replace the Manchester United man, was the star of the show in the Olympic Stadium in Ashgabat. The three goals will also have been well-received in England at Kim’s club, Premier League new boys West Bromich Albion. Now the sometimes shaggy-haired midfielder deserves to keep his place in the team for the ‘Korea Derby’ regardless of whether Park recovers. “It’s my wife’s birthday tomorrow and I wanted to give a present to our baby that will be born soon,” Kim told reporters. “It was a nice victory and it is good that now there is no pressure on us for the North Korea match.” Kim returned to Seoul on Sunday, in time to share seaweed soup with his wife and four days before the North Koreans. There were concerns they would never arrive and even now, FIFA and Korean Football Association (KFA) will breathe a sigh of relief when the plane from Beijing touches down in Incheon. The first inter-Korean match that was due to take place in Pyongyang in March 26 was relocated to Shanghai following a row over the playing of national anthems and the flying of flags. The South Koreans have demonstrated in recent years, especially at the 2005 East Asian Championships, that they don’t have a problem with the North Korean flag fluttering in the Land of the Morning Calm. Despite that the north still wasn’t too keen. In April, it was first reported that it wanted FIFA to move the game. Last week, the beef protests in Gwanghwamun provided another opportunity. Officials said they were concerned about the safety of their players, even the vegetarian ones. Once again, it was requested that Saturday’s game be relocated from Seoul to a third country or Jeju Island, famous for its pork. Once again, the KFA, backed by FIFA, refused and Huh Jung-moo was able to start focusing on the game. “North Korea is a very defensive team,” Huh Jung-moo said on Tuesday, pointing out that it had yet to concede a goal in five qualification matches. “We need to break through their defence line but also watch out for their counter-attacks.” Such sorties will likely be led by Jong Tae-se. For most southern fans it is the first chance to take a look at North Korea’s star striker. Jong, dubbed “The People’s Rooney” was born to South Korean parents in Japan and scored against his parents’ homeland in February at the East Asian Cup. “I am ready to show what I can do in Seoul,” he told reporters last week. “We are looking to win.” It doesn’t matter who wins now. It is all about getting ready for the next round. 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