South Korea 0 - 1 Belgium: Divock Origi helps fell taeguk warriors

Divock Origi (Left)

Jan Vertonghen mopped up Divock Origi’s rasping shot that South Korea goalkeeper could not gather, to give 10-man Belgium a 1-0 win and top Group H with maximum points.

Origi came off the bench to replace Napoli star Dries Mertens and once again did not disappoint Coach Marc Wilmots, who described him before the match as “calm and composed lad.”

The 19-year-old raced towards South Korea’s goal and his testing low shot troubled Taeguk Warriors’ keeper Kim Seunggyu before falling kindly Vertonghen to clip home the only goal of the match.

Origi, son of former Harambee Stars striker and captain, Mike Okoth, scored a stunner inside the famed Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro when Belgium beat Russia by a solitary goal.

And, with Coach Wilmots urging him not to slow down because of scoring at the Maracana, Origi showed the will and hunger again against the South Koreans.

Belgium had been under the cosh since Steven Defour was sent off before half time for an ugly stump on Kim Shin-wook.

To stave off the Taeguk Warriors, Wilmots made a double substitution bringing on Origi and Tottenham’s Nacer Chadli in place of Manchester United’s Adnan Januzaj.

The changes paid off as Origi stuck at the centre channel ensuring the Korean’s forays upfront were limited.

In another second match played in Curitiba, Algeria drew 1-1 with Russia to join Belgium in the second round. Russia scored first when Aleksandr Kokorin nodded home Dmitri Kombarov’s cross from 12 yards.

But Islam Slimani headed home from a free-kick in the second half to haul Algeria level, in the process getting his third goal of the tournament.

Belgium will play USA at Arena Fonte Nova, Salvador while Algeria travel to Porto Alegre to play Germany.

In a match where clear-cut chances came at a premium in the first half, Belgium had theirs on 24 minutes but Napoli star Dries Martens blazed over from 10 yards when South Korea failed to clear their lines.

South Korea almost surprised the World Cup dark horses, Belgium, inside the Arena de Sao Paolo, when on the half hour mark, SI Kyi tested Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois with a low drive from 25 yards.

Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Moussa Dembele dithered at the centre only for Kyi to disposes him and charge towards Belgian goal before unleashing a grass-cutter that Courtois had to be alert to smother.

From the ensuing corner, South Korea went closer, but the Belgian defence hacked the ball from the line to maintain parity.

South Korea coach Hong Myungbo, who captained the Taeguk Warriors in their 2002 semifinal showing, introduced Keun-Ho Lee for Kook-Young Han in 46th minute to inject pace upfront.

Son Heung-min went close to opening scores just after the hour when his curling cross, bounced off the crossbar into play with Courtois beaten.

In the end, however, there was no stopping the Belgians.

 

LINE UPS

 

South Korea

21 -Seung-Gyu Kim, 3 -Suk-Young Yoon, 5 -Young-Gwon Kim, 20 -Jeong-Ho Hong, 12 -Yong Lee, 16-Sung-Yong Ki, 17-Chung-Yong Lee, 13-Ja-Cheol Koo,   

14-Kook-Young Han, 18-Shin-Wook Kim,

Coach: Myung-Bo Hong

Subs:

2 -Chang-Soo Kim, 4 -Tae-Hwi Kwak, 6 -Seok-Ho Hwang,  7 -Bo-Kyung Kim, 8- Dae-Sung Ha,  10 -Chu-Young Park,  15-Jong-Woo Park, 19-Dong-Won Ji, 22- Joo-Ho Park, 23-Beom-Young Lee, 11-Keun-Ho Lee, 1-Sung-Ryong Jung,

 

Belgium

1 -T. Courtois, 15-D. Van Buyten, 5-J. Vertonghen, 21-A. Vanden Borre, 18-N. Lombaerts,19 -M. Dembélé, 8 -M. Fellaini, 16-S. Defour, 20-A. Januzaj, 11-K. Mirallas,14-D. Mertens,         

Coach: M. Wilmots

Subs:

2 - T. Alderweireld, 6-A. Witsel, 7 - K. De Bruyne, 9-R. Lukaku, 10-E. Hazard, 12-S. Mignolet, 13- S. Bossut, 17- D. Origi, 22 -N. Chadli, 23-L. Ciman