South Korea Ties France 1-1
Posted June 18, 2006 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
France scored their first World Cup goal in eight years on Sunday, but it simply wasn’t enough to earn them their first win in that same stretch.
The last time the European power found the back of the net was in the 1998 World Cup final, a game they won over heavily favoured Brazil. In 2002, they failed to score in three games, and so to did they come up empty in their opening 2006 contest against Switzerland.
But on Sunday against South Korea it finally happened, when Arsenal striker Thierry Henry bulged the twine in the ninth minute of their second Group G match. The goal stood for most of the game, but unfortunately South Korea had other plans in the later stages, pulling even with an equalizer in the 81 st.
Park Ji-sung flicked a bouncing ball in the box past French goalie Fabien Barthez, much to the sheer elation of a surprisingly large Korean contingent in Leipzig, Germany.
Henry’s goal was his 34 th in international play, but he could have had his 35 th as well, missing a golden opportunity to answer the pressing Koreans in the final minutes.
Instead, the French will have to settle for their second tie of the tournament, leaving them with just two points in their group heading into their final game against Togo.
That match will almost surely be a must win, as South Korea now sits firmly in first place in Group G with four points after a win over Togo in their first round robin contest.
Togo, with no points and the Swiss, who have just one, will play each other in what will be the second game for each on Monday.
