Koreans rue missed chances

PORT ELIZABETH // South Korea's Du-Ri Cha, the son of one of Asia's finest players, broke down on the pitch yesterday when his team failed to qualify for the quarter-finals. It may have been the defender's last World Cup finals appearance. The son of Bum-kun Cha, regarded as one of the best players in Asian football history, was devastated by the said the 2-1 defeat by Uruguay after the Koreans controlled much of the match in the second half.

"We were controlling the game, we had played a great second half and then to lose like this ? that hurts twice as much," he said, with tears welling in his eyes. South Korea never gave up after the first early goal from Luis Suarez and piled the pressure on the South Americans with a steady stream of counter-attacks. Chung-yong Lee, the midfielder, scored the equaliser on the 68th minute, but Suarez scored his second for Uruguay soon after. "They had two world-class attackers," Cha said. "That paid off today. In football you also need some luck. That's what we were missing today."

The excitement in South Korea over the team qualifying for the knockout stage for the first time on foreign soil was tempered by the team's failure to advance even further. "We were so close, it's sad, makes you bitter," said Cha, 32. "I'm not the youngest anymore either and who knows if I get to play in another World Cup. That makes it all the sadder." Ji-sung Park, the Manchester United midfielder, lamented a missed chance with what was a strong South Korea squad.

"We have to have more players come over from Asia to play in Europe," Park said. "That makes the Asian teams more strong. It was a great chance to reach maybe the semi-finals. But in the World Cup everybody is strong." * Reuters