Portugal 0-1 South Korea
South Korea made sure they would not be upstaged by co-hosts Japan with a superb victory which sent Portugal crashing out of the World Cup.
The Koreans fully deserved to reach the last 16 for the first time in their history after tearing apart a Portuguese side who had Joao Pinto and Beto sent off.
A brilliant 70th-minute strike from Park Ji-Sung saw Guus Hiddink's side qualify as Group D winners and set up a meeting with Italy.
And Portugal's failure to withstand the second-half bombardment handed the USA a dramatic reprieve despite their 3-1 defeat by Poland in the night's other game.
Portugal knew they would face a stern test in front of a partisan 52,000 crowd in Incheon as South Korea tried to follow Japan through to the second stage.
But on a night when the one-time group favourites could ultimately have survived with just a draw, Luis Figo and his illustrious team-mates simply failed to deliver.
They came up against a wall of sound as their opponents went for the jugular right from the first whistle.
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MATCH FACTS |
26 mins: Joao Pinto is sent off for a crude foul on Park Ji-Sung
30: Seol Ki-Hyeon finds the net but his effort is disallowed
65 mins: Beto is sent off for a foul on Lee Young-Pyo
70 mins: Park Ji-Sung smashes in a brilliant goal for Korea
88 mins: Sergio Conceicao shoots against the inside of the post
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Korean striker Lee Young-Pyo fired an early warning with a rising drive over the bar after just four minutes and Seol Ki-Hyeon proved a real handful down the left flank.
He bamboozled Figo with a cheeky dummy and Beto went into the book for twice bringing down the striker in full flow.
Portugal were clearly shellshocked by the Koreans' pace and power and on the rare occasion they managed a break Figo completely missed the ball before being easily dispossessed on the touchline.
Their frustration boiled over when Joao Pinto clattered into Park Ji-Sung from behind and was instantly shown the red card by Argentine referee Angel Sanchez.
Korea thought they had the breakthrough they deserved on the half hour when Seol Ki-Hyeon tapped home but Portugal keeper Vitor Baia had clearly been fouled by Choi Jin-Chul as he jumped to claim a corner.
Portugal could still have gone into the interval ahead if Pauleta had shown the same composure that brought him a hat-trick against Poland.
The striker was sent racing between the Korean centre-backs by a perfect pass from Figo but shot well wide from the edge of the area.
News that group rivals the USA were losing to Poland would surely have been communicated to both sets of players at half-time.
But any fears that Korea might ease off and settle for a draw were dispelled when Guus Hiddink's side continued to pepper the Portuguese goal at the start of the second half.
Seol Ki-Hyeon and Yoo Sang-Chul both sent headers just past the post and Kim Nam-Il fired a fizzing shot across the face of goal.
Portugal threatened briefly when Pauleta had a header palmed away by keeper Lee Woon-Jae but their hopes faded when Beto was given his marching orders for bringing down Lee Young-Pyo.
It took the Koreans just five minutes to make them pay as Park Ji-Sung chested down a deep cross from the right, flicked the ball inside Fernando Couto and blasted home.
That was the signal for a frantic late finish which saw Figo send a free-kick flashing just wide and Sergio Conceicao hit the inside of the post with a drive before having a fierce shot palmed away by Lee Woon-Jae.
Portugal: Vitor Baia, Jorge Costa, Fernando Couto (capt), Luis Figo, Joao Pinto, Pauleta, Paulo Bento, Sergio Conceicao, Petit, Beto, Rui Jorge.
Subs Not Used: Pedro Barbosa, Caneira, Nuno Capucho, Frechaut, Nelson, Ricardo, Rui Costa, Paulo Sousa, Hugo Viana.
Booked: Beto, Jorge Costa.
Sent Off: Joao Pinto, Beto.
South Korea: Lee Woon-Jae, Choi Jin-Cheul, Kim Nam-il, Yoo Sang-Chul, Kim Tae-Young, Seol Ki-Hyeon, Lee Young-Pyo, Ahn Jung-Hwan, Hong Myung-Bo (capt), Park Ji-Sung, Song Chong-Gug.
Subs Not Used: Cha-Do_Ri, Choi Eun-Sung, Choi Sung-Yong, Choi Tae-Uk, Choi Yong-Soo, Hwang Sun-Hong, Hyun Young-Min, Kim Byung-Ji, Lee Eul-Yong, Lee Min-Sung, Yoon Jong-Hwan.
Booked: Kim Tae-Young, Seol Ki-Hyeon, Kim Nam-Il, Ahn Jung-Hwan.
Goals: Park Ji-Sung 70.
Attendance: 50,239.
Referee: Angel Sanchez (Arg).
| MATCH STATS |
| | Portugal | S Korea |
| Corners (1st half) | 0 | 1 |
| Corners (2nd half) | 3 | 4 |
| Fouls committed | 19 | 21 |
| Caught offside | 1 | 2 |
| Shots on target | 3 | 4 |
| Shots off target | 3 | 6 |
| Hit woodwork (back into play) | 1 | 0 |
| Yellow cards | 2 | 4 |
| Red cards | 2 | 0 |
| STOPPAGE TIME | |
| First half - 2 mins | Second half - 4 mins |
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