Win, Lose AND Draw
Asia's biggest day at the World Cup ended with a win, a tie and a loss. It also featured one of the most spectacular goals a soccer fan can see – the bicycle kick.
A remarkable South Korean side topped listless Poland 2-0 and sent the home crowd in Busan into a frenzy. China lost 2-0 to Costa Rica and Japan tied Belgium 2-2 in a match that featured the priceless goal by Belgian striker Marc Wilmots.
The Poland loss could come as a boon to the United States squad. Poland was widely thought to be a favorite to advance to the second round in a group that contains South Korea, the U.S, and Portugal. But Poland's weakness could translate into America's gain provided the Americans can get a better result against the Koreans than the Polish did.
The United States plays its opener vs. Portugal on Wednesday in Suwon, South Korea. They play the South Koreans on June 10.
The victory snapped the Koreans' streak of never winning on soccer's main stage. In their sixth World Cup, they got goals from Hwang Sun-hong and Yoo Sang-chul before a chanting crowd of 48,760 decked out almost exclusively in red shirts to support the "Red Devils."
For the Japanese, who were the underdogs against the Belgians, settling for a draw was almost a disappointment. Japan fell behind 1-0 when Marc Wilmots scored on a wonderful scissor-kick in the 57th minute. But only two minutes later, the crowd of 55,256 erupted in a leaping sea of blue as Takayaki Suzuki tied it on a run where he beat the last defender and touched the ball lightly past the goalkeeper.
When Januchi Inamoto's superb blast in the 67th minute gave the home team the lead, Saitama Stadium was the loudest place in Japan. But in the 75th minute, Peter Van Der Heyden escaped his defender on the left side to chip in a shot from the edge of the penalty area. To their credit the Belgians did not panic despite the roaring crowd.
There were more than 8,000 empty seats at the game, further emphasizing the problems with ticket distribution plaguing the tournament. Japan's Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi instructed the sports minister to make a formal inquiry to FIFA. South Korean soccer officials also are considering legal action after thousands of tickets were unsold for opening games. But they did not say who they plan to sue.
China, which came to the World Cup stage with soccer's resident guru as coach and high hopes of impressing the international community, fell 2-0 to Costa Rica. Bora Milutinovic's Chinese squad showed lots of spunk and discipline, but was no match for Costa Rica in Gwangju, South Korea. Ronald Gomez and Mauricio Wright scored second-half goals for Costa Rica.
Three South Korean men were arrested for scalping tickets before the co-host played the Poles. Nearly 8,000 fans waited overnight near the Busan stadium to buy 3,000 tickets made available by organizers.
Falun Gong, a group banned by China in 1999 as a threat to communist rule and a social menace, handed out paper fans and hats to spectators in Gwangju before the game. South Korea promised China it would block any anti-Chinese protests before the match, but police did not intervene.
"We are here to welcome the Chinese and cheer for them," said Kwon Hong-dae, head of South Korea's Falun Gong office. "We have never opposed China or condemned them."
Turkey still is angered about the officiating of South Korea's Kim Young-joo in Monday's 2-1 loss to Brazil. Kim called a controversial penalty kick that resulted in Rivaldo's winning goal, and handed two red cards to the Turks.
"I am leaving him up to the South Koreans," said Haluk Ulusoy, head of Turkey's soccer federation. "We sacrificed 1,000 soldiers here to defend Koreans, and one Korean killed 70 million Turks last night."
South Korea and Turkey have had warm relations since 15,000 Turkish troops fought in the Korean War from 1950-53. "We love Koreans, but that man can't be a referee. In Turkey, he wouldn't even be allowed to officiate a match in the second division," Ulusoy said.
Kim has not been criticized elsewhere for his work.
"I did my best to perform my duty fairly and impartially," the 45-year-old official said. "If the Brazilian players had acted like the Turks did last evening, they too would have been disciplined the same way.
"They made a lot of unnecessary and unwarranted protests. It is possible that such behavior is condoned and considered normal in games held in their country, but not in a World Cup finals match."
Two prisoners were killed as they attempted to escape a jail during Brazil's World Cup match with Turkey on Monday. At least 17 prisoners escaped through a tunnel at about 6:30 a.m., a half-hour after Brazil's first World Cup game began, Sao Paulo police said. Police killed two of the escapees and recaptured four others.
A dozen Argentine police officers will mingle with fans during Friday's high-profile Argentina-England match in Sapporo, Japan. England and Argentina have long had problems with soccer violence, and Argentina and Britain went to war over the Falkland Islands in 1982.
In Sydney, Australia, six police officers were injured during a disturbance involving fans celebrating Italy's victory over Ecuador. Two people were arrested.
Police said bottles and fireworks were thrown at them and into the crowd while a number of vehicles raced up and down a restaurant strip. Extra police will be called in for future televised matches.