The South Koreans fell behind to Kalu Uche's 12th minute opener in Durban, but recovered strongly courtesy of Lee-Jung Soo's 38th minute effort and a Park Chu-Young free-kick on 49 minutes.
Nigeria equalised when Yakubu rolled in a penalty on 69 minutes after substitute Kim Nam-Il's crude foul on Chinedu Obasi, but the match will be remembered for two glaring Nigerian misses.
Yakubu should have equalised on 65 minutes when he missed an open goal from two yards out, while substitute Obafemi Martins chipped wide with the goal at his mercy 10 minutes from time.
Group winners Argentina face Mexico on Sunday. South Korea take on Group A winners Uruguay on Saturday.
South Korea knew they would progress with a draw and an Argentina win over Greece. They got there in the end, but only courtesy of Nigeria's shoddy defending and finishing.
The Asians began the brighter side with Bolton's Lee Chung-Yong unlucky to poke past a post on two minutes.
Some adventurous play by Ki Sung-Yong saw the young Celtic midfielder rattle one over before Nigeria struck on 11 minutes.
Chidi Odiah raced down the right and Uche steamed in to convert. It was bad defending by South Korea with Cha Du-Ri guilty of ball-watching.
Uche almost netted his third goal of the finals on 36 minutes when a 30-yard howitzer hit the left-hand post of the South Korean goal.
The Asian side restored parity seven minutes before the interval as Ki Sung-Yong's free-kick allowed Lee Jung-Soo to score at the back post.
He missed the header, but the ball went in off a thigh as Nigeria's defenders were left marking fresh air.
The night got better for South Korea 10 minutes after the interval when Park Chu-Young planted a free-kick into a corner from outside the box after Danny Shittu had hauled down the South Korean goalscorer.
Yakubu was guilty of blowing Nigeria's best chance of the finals with a miss that will be remembered long after the dust settles.
Youssouf Ayila sped into the Korean box and fed the bustling striker, but he somehow contrived to prod wide of an open goal.
Yakubu's penalty gave Nigeria fresh hope, but Martins contrived to extinguish it seconds after Shittu almost deflected Cha Du-Ri's cross into the net.
The former Newcastle striker bundled his way in on goal, managed to lift the ball over the South Korean goalkeeper Jung Sung-Ryong, but sent it wide of the target as Nigeria became the latest African side to suffer an agonising early exit.
Match Facts
South Korea v Nigeria
Goals 2-2
1st Half Goals 1-1
Shots on Target 3-8
Shots off Target 8-7
Blocked Shots 0-1
Corners 1-7
Fouls 22-12
Offsides 1-2
Yellow Cards 3-1
Red Cards 0-0
Passing Success 76%-78.1%
Tackles 15-19
Tackles Success 100%-57.9%
Possession 46.1%-53.9%
Territorial Advantage 47.4%-52.6%
No comments:
Post a Comment