Group B contenders
Argentina
Nigeria
Korea Republic
Greece

Route to the finals
Qualifying for their seventh consecutive World Cup, Korea Republic once again proved to be a formidable outfit in the Asia qualifying zone.

They managed to avoid defeat during their 14 qualifying games – the only team in the region to do so – and topped their groups in both Round 3 and 4.

It was an impressive campaign for the 2002 hosts and secured them one of the four guaranteed berths at South Africa 2010. 

Manager
In recent years Korea Republic have turned to Dutch managers to lead the national squad.

After the success of Guus Hiddink in 2002 – when he took the Taegeuk Warriors to the semi-finals of the World Cup – stints for Jo Bonfrere, Dick Advocaat and Pim Verbeek followed.

However, it was the homegrown talent of Huh Jung-Moo who navigated his nation to their ninth appearance at a World Cup. This is his third spell in charge of the team after a brief 12-day tenure in 1995 and a two-year effort between 1998 and 2000.

Player watch
The South Koreans have established themselves as a tenacious and combative nation on the football field, whose sum tends to be greater than its parts.

Their ‘never say die’ attitude has stood them in good stead through qualifying campaigns and tournaments and there is no better advocate of this mentality than Manchester United’s Park Ji-Sung.

Park has been at Old Trafford since 2005 and played a vital role in helping the Red Devils lift three consecutive Premier League titles from 2007. He was also Korea’s leading scorer in their qualifying campaign, with five goals.

Competition History
First appearance: 1954
No. of appearances (inc 2010): 8
Best result: Fourth Place (2002)
Matches against England: 1

Squad

Goalkeepers
1	Lee Woon-Jae	Suwon Samsung Bluewings, KOR
18	Jung Sung-Ryong	Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma, KOR
21	Kim Young-Kwang	Ulsan Hyundai Horangi, KOR
Defenders
2	Oh Beom-Seok	Ulsan Hyundai Horangi, KOR
3	Kim Hyung-Il	Pohang Steelers, KOR
4	Cho Yong-Hyung	Jeju United, KOR
12	Lee Young-Pyo	Al Hilal, KSA
14	Lee Jung-Soo	Kashima Antlers, JPN
15	Kim Dong-Jin	Ulsan Hyundai Horangi, KOR
22	Cha Doo-Ri	SC Freiburg, GER
23	Kang Min-Soo	Suwon Samsung Bluewings, KOR
Midfielders
5	Kim Nam-Il	Tom Tomsk, RUS
6	Kim Bo-Kyung	Oita Trinita, JPN
7	Park Ji-Sung	Manchester United, ENG
8	Kim Jung-Woo	Gwangju Sangmu Bulsajo, KOR
13	Kim Jae-Sung	Pohang Steelers, KOR
16	Ki Sung-Yueng	Celtic, SCO
17	Lee Chung-Yong	Bolton Wanderers, ENG
19	Yeom Ki-Hun	Suwon Samsung Bluewings, KOR
Forwards
9	Ahn Jung-Hwan	Dalian Haichang, CHN
10	Park Chu-Young	AS Monaco, FRA
11	Lee Seung-Yeoul	FC Seoul, KOR
20	Lee Dong-Gook	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, KOR