LiveBlog: South Korea – Togo

Togo took the early lead with a goal by Mohamed Kader. South Korea answered with a goal off of a free kick by Lee Chun Soo and a goal by Ahn Jung Swan. Emmanuel Adebayor was MIA but Togo was added to the list of possibly underestimated African teams.

Final: South Korea 2-1 Togo

Full Time: S. Korea gets the result everyone expected but not the margin.

91:40 Romao plants himself in front of a S. Korean player and the free kick is sent back towards midfield. The crowd boos, they want another score.

91:40 I want a miracle.

90:00 3 min injury time.

88:00 One last push by Togo, free kick curls outside the goal without touching anything. Well placed kick, good set piece.

86:50 Korea’s killing time. Interesting that Togo hasn’t really looked tired in this game even though their fitness was a main concern.

85:46 Another long cross. Togo is a tall team but not that tall.

84:40 Togo corner. It’s long and Togo heads it back out.

83:02 Another field goal for S. Korea.

81:30 8.5 minutes to go and the celebrations are starting in the stadium. A bit premature if you ask me.

80:30 Sniper attempt from Kader and I thought it had a chance. A little less air.

79:09 I wonder how the S. Korean media will react to the 1-0 half time lead of the Sparrowhawks?

77:25 I’m looking for a Togo score and if it weren’t for that pesky offsides rule I would have gotten it.

73:45 S. Korea has another great shot blocked and the Togo goalie hangs onto it after a moment.

72:15 A glance off the defender bends Ahn’s shot out of the goalie’s reach.

72:00 Goal S. Korea!

68:40 I hate to say it, but Adebayor actually wasn’t long enough to get a good touch on that ball. Would have been an easy goal.

67:50 Subs for S. Korea. Kim on, Lee off.

66:19 I almost like to see S. Korea getting close to the goal because Togo’s best chances have come from counterattacks.

65:30 Routine save by the Togo keeper but I don’t really trust him.

64:22 Adebayor is the star of ths squad. He needs to take that shot instead of passing it back to center.

62:23 A cross from the right dies in front of the net and Togo gets a great shot. Misses high but it made Sean’s “Togo COULD score again” comment look brilliant.

59:30 Togo’s Malm falls down back pedaling and does his knee pretty good. He’s off the field and Forson comes on.

58:26 Another shot too high for S. Korea. The NY Giants fieldgoal kicker scouts are writing down names.

56:01 Togo’s defense has some holes but they’re doing a decent job being physical. One mistake and a penalty evens the score and S. Korea looks like it’s descending for the kill. My guess is it will be 2-1 in the next 10 minutes.

54:08 Lee Chun Soo puts the kick in the upper left corner and the keeper misses. Goal S. Korea.

52;04 Mohamed Kader gets a kick in the foot and he’s down for awhile. Second yellow for Jean Paul Abalo when S. Korea breaks ago and its a free kick for S. Korea.

49:19 S. Korea probably got a very stern lecture at the half. Card for S. Korea but I missed who go it. Stupid typing.

47:50 Mohamed Kader has moves and gets around 4 defenders to get a shot off. Adebayor who?

46:35 A free kick for Korea and an open shot that wasn’t finished and I’m beginning to a trend in Korea’s chances. I’m hoping it stays that way.

46:00 We’re ready to watch some history here. 45 minutes of tense defense for Togo.

Halftime: Togo’s bicycle kick attempt was a bit awkward at the end but the rest of the half looked good for what was supposed to be an overmatched Togo squad. They’re up 1-0 off a beautiful ground goal by Mohamed Kader.

45:00 A cross across the goal is too close for comfort and then a header makes me long for half time.

44:18 Togo is about the size of West Virginia in the United States and they’re leading against S. Korea.

42:22 The half is winding down and the Koreans look frantic, their early chances got them nothing.

41:18 Great shot by Senaya. Almost got through to the top of the net.

40:30 1-0 Togo with a free kick.

39:40 South Korea is relentless. They’re going to score.

38:14 Korea is getting some open angles for shots but they’re all wide. It’s making me nervous.

36:59 Pfister looks like a pimp moonlighting as a coach with that chain.

34:48 Corner for Korea looks like it’s headed toward the goal but it’s just the camera angle. Then the follow booted into the stands. Everyone here wants the upset.

33:33 Free kick for S. Korea blocked by the wall.

32:33 Best goal of the Cup by Kader.

30:45 Mohamed Kader with a beautiful floor shot across the goalie. Best goal Togo has ever scored. Buy your buddy a beer and see if they can hold on.

30:40 GOOOOAAAAALLLLL TOOGOOOO!

29:04 Free kick s. korea from deep on the right side and Togo takes possession.

27:04 My expectations are on the rise for Togo, they haven’t trained but they’re competing and look like they’ll be a danger to draw against S. Korea. Barring a second half fitness collapse I expect a close game.

25:01 62/38 advantage Korea for possession.

23:05 Two yellows for Togo. Free kick for Korea goes wide left.

22:39 Korea levels a Togo player and the world cup yellow card party continues. Only the card went to Togo… I don’t get it.

20:40 A little squib through the defense to the keeper and the crowd is nearly dying. Either they have no idea what they’re watching or they want to be on the field.

18:40 Togo levels Park on the right side and S. Korea gets a good cross out of it.

17:00 S. Korea gets a chance down the left side again and the stadium goes nuts at a different volume than other games I’ve seen. I can’t imagine what it will be like if they score. No danger of that so far.

15:30 Togo with a cross that would have been dangerous if it wasn’t 18 feet in the air.

13:00 I hear that Adebayor makes 30K a week at Arsenal. I’m curious what the possession time differential is in this game. My guess is about even.

11:15 Offsides Togo after another long range pass.

9:00 Mostly midfield play the first 9 minutes with an occasional attack. Togo passed from long range and got a decent run at the ball. The shot missed high.

8:30 Adebayor is definetly the man for this squad. Get him the ball.

6:40 Togo looking more cohesive than expected. Nick’s getting excited.

5:30 Decent attack by Togo’s Adebayor.

4:42 A glimpse of Togo coach Otto Pfister shows him dressed to go out clubbing in jeans and jacket. I guess we know where he was going to go if he left the team.

3:00 A lot of expectations on S. Korea, but they seem pretty composed and in control. They’re mostly just booting it into the Togo end and the Togo keeper is sending it back. Not bad so far.

1:38 If Togo can keep Korea scoreless for more than 4 minutes they’re doing better than Angola.
00:32 A pretty aggressive attack down the left side by korea. Free kick after a trip. Nothing comes of it.

00:00 The 13 June games have started, my next 9 hours are set in stone.

Pregame

Togo blogger Nick is predicting a lot of goals by South Korea. Especially in the second half.

I wonder what all of these Korean signs say. Will someone translate the giant red one in the corner of the lower deck?

5 straight minutes of the wave going around the stadium. The upper deck is having trouble keeping up. German TV can’t get enough.

Got some video of some good South Korean devil horns in the crowd. Looks like red is dominating the stadium. Do we have any Togo fans commenting here?

20 minutes to kick off, has anybody had any problems with the boss over the World Cup at work? How are you all in South Korea staying awake all night to watch?

A hot day here in Germany. Does Togo have a chance? What’s your prediction?

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