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AP -Alvaro Saborio scored on a penalty kick 40
minutes into the first half, leading Costa Rica to a 1-0 win over South
Korea on Saturday.
Goalies Jose Francisco Porras and Wardy Alfaro combined on the shutout for
Costa Rica, which was playing for just the second time since the World Cup
qualifying tournament last October. Costa Rica will face host Germany,
Poland and Ecuador in the opening round of the World Cup beginning in June.
Saborio's goal, coming after he was tripped up on a breakaway threat, was
the lone offensive highlight of a match dominated by defense. South Korea
controlled the ball the majority of the game, particularly in the second
half, but couldn't get a shot past Porras or Alfaro.
Porras made a diving deflection off a shot from South Korea midfielder Chun-Soo
Lee less than a minute after Saborio's goal, while Alfaro knocked away two
shots late in the second half.
The combined efforts from Porras and Alfaro is a good sign for a Costa Rica
team many expect to go deep in the World Cup tournament. Costa Rica, ranked
21st by FIFA, already has a win over the United States earlier this month in
an evaluation match and will travel to face Iran in Tehran on March 1.
South Korea, which features five players from the national team that reached
the World Cup semifinals in 2002, was coming off a 3-0 win over defending
Major League Soccer champion Los Angeles on Feb. 8 but couldn't get anything
into the net against Costa Rica.
Jae-Jin Cho's header deflected off the right bar 74 minutes into the match
and just missed going in before Alfaro knocked the ball away. Chu-Young Park
then later missed a clear shot from 30 yards away, the ball sailing wide
right of the net.
It was the first time South Korea has been shut out since losing 1-0 to
Saudi Arabia in a World Cup qualifier last August. South Korea next plays at
Mexico on Wednesday.
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