Swiss are on top in every way

Switzerland - 2 South Korea - 0: It remains just a little difficult to come to a game like this, look at the Swiss and not think, but for a lack of composure last year, that could be us out there.

There would have been the little matter of getting past Turkey in the play-off, but, hey, you can dream, can't you? And then there is last night, when the Swiss rode their luck but still did enough not only to beat a lively group of South Korean players who would ultimately be left devastated by their elimination, but also to consolidate their place at the top of a group that included their, and our, old qualification rivals, France.

The achievement earns them a second-round meeting with the Ukraine.

Ireland, of course, have no complaints after the rather lifeless way in which they failed to beat their rivals in Dublin at the tail end of the campaign. But it was a mystery after that, and remains one now, how Kobi Kuhn's side could look so comfortable against a team with so much riding on a win.

In the Koreans last night, however, they faced a side with very similar reasons to Ireland last October for energetically pursuing a victory. In the end they failed to achieve it but, on their way out of this competition, Dick Advocaat's men certainly highlighted flaws that the Irish had left unexposed.

Both coaches made a couple of changes to their starting line-up, the absence of the injured Daniel Gygax prompting Kuhn to hand Hakan Yakin his first start of the tournament. The gameplans, though, were essentially unchanged with the two teams lining out for what was always going to be a fast and furious battle in a packed midfield and relying heavily on their ability to get bodies forward from there in support of lone strikers.

For the Swiss, the scheme worked rather well from the start while their opponents initially found their path forward blocked by Milan's industrious and quietly efficient Johann Vogel.

His efforts in front of the team's central defence allowed the rest of the midfield, particularly Yakin, Raphael Wicky and Tranquillo Barnetta, to agitate from just behind Alexander Frei, who, had his finishing been better, might easily have had a hat-trick.

Instead, the 26-year-old had to wait until the closing stages to find the net once and by then he had already passed up a couple of straightforward chances in each half before doing well to send a powerful strike crashing off the post from wide on the right while being closely pursued by two defenders.

It was Philippe Senderos, meanwhile, who put his side in front midway through the first half. Barnetta had been fouled 40 metres out by Park Chu Young and Yakin's angled ball flew nicely into the path of the Arsenal centre back, who rose above Choi Jin Cheul to head home from close range. Unfortunately both men were injured, with the Swiss eventually having to be replaced early in the second half.

By now it was an open and entertaining game in which the Koreans were starting to make an impact up front. Indeed, had the most attack-minded of their midfielders, Lee Chun Soo, been a little less inclined to shoot at the first sight of goal they might have threatened a good deal more, but as it was, Pascal Zuberbuehler gradually came to find he had some work on his hands and he reacted especially well when the trigger-happy Korean midfielder held Patrick Mueller off well before unleashing a shot that looked to be heading for the bottom.

At times, both before and after the interval, some of the Swiss defending was chaotic, with Senderos as guilty as anyone around him of making fundamental errors under pressure.

Sensing there was every chance they could get themselves back on terms, the Koreans pressed eagerly forward, but there was an inevitable cost in terms of the barrier they had previously mounted across midfield and the chances came in quick succession at both ends.

Frei finally took his in highly controversial circumstances 12 minutes from time when Xavier Margairaz's through ball for him took a deflection off Lee Ho. The linesman initially flagged but the referee immediately waved play on. All but the Swiss striker and the Korean goalkeeper stopped in their tracks and the man in red won the duel at the second attempt.

In the mayhem that followed, two Koreans were booked and one of their coaches was ordered into the stands. From there he got to watch his side mount a spirited attempt to salvage something from the proceedings but the closest they came was when Kim Jin Kyu's close-range shot was deflected onto the bar.

In the minutes that remained there were further bookings and a couple more close shaves for the Swiss goalkeeper but at the final whistle the Koreans knew their fate had been decided elsewhere and when news came through of the French victory their distress was in stark contrast to the still continuing Swiss celebrations.

SUBSTITUTIONS

SWITZERLAND: Djourou for Senderos (53 mins), Behrami for Wicky (88 mins), Margairaz for Yakin (70 mins). Subs not used: Benaglio, Coltorti, David Degen, Dzemaili, Grichting, Gygax, Lustrinelli, Magnin, Streller. Booked: Senderos, Yakin, Wicky, Spycher, Djourou.

SOUTH KOREA: Ahn for Young-Pyo Lee (62 mins), Seol for Chu-Young Park (65 mins). Subs not used: Baek, Won-hee Cho, Chung, Do-Heon Kim, Sang-Sik Kim, Yong-Dae Kim, Young-Kwang Kim, Eul-Yong Lee, Song. Booked: Chu-Young Park, Jin-Kyu Kim, Choi, Chun-Soo Lee.

Referee: Horacio Marcelo Elizondo (Argentina).