South Korea falls to Algeria

Algeria registered their first win in the tournament when they beat South Korea 4-2 in an intriguing encounter at Porto Allegre. The Algerians scored thrice in the first half of the match and added one more later to stay in the hunt for qualification in the second round.

Algeria opened the scoring in the 26^th minute of the match when Slimani when he lifted the long pass from Medjani over the Korean keeper skillfully putting his nation into the lead. Two minutes later Halliche doubled the lead with a perfectly placed powerful header from a corner kick. Korea’s appalling defending made them pay the price for the third time in the opening 45 minutes of the match when Djabou made it 3-0 in the 38^th minute. Korea was left with a lot of work to do in the second half to find themselves in a better position and for that they had to defend much better.

Korea made a bright start to the second half as Son Heung-min scored the first goal for the Asians after 5 minutes of play. Korea increased the pressure on the Africans and it seemed that it was just a matter of time for Korea to score. The goal came but it was the Algerians who struck with brilliant one-touch counter attacking football. Brahimi was the man to score and Feghouli was the provider. South Korea was back in it again when Koo Ja-Cheol made it 4-2 in the 72^nd minute. A nail biting finish was on the cards as the Koreans began to make more forward movements into the Algerian penalty area. However the Africans stood tall and dealt with anything that was thrown at them by Korea and finally the match ended with the Algerians emerging victorious by a comprehensive scoreline of 4-2.

Korea still have the chance of qualifying into the next round but that looks a distant possibility for they now have to win against Belgium that too by a margin of more than 1 goal and also expect that the Russia and Algeria finish their encounter on level terms. On other hand, Algeria has given them a great chance of getting into the next round. A win will make it easier for them. If they draw their match they need Belgium to get at least 1 point from their match. with Belgium already into the last 16, it’s extremely delicately poised in the Group H as it seems that it will go down to wire in the final group matches.

• About the Author

About Argha Ghosh

An ardent follower of sports and die-hard Manchester United fan, Argha's ultimate dream is to watch a Manchester derby from the Stretford End at the Old Trafford.