Samba boys made to dig deep

Johannesberg, Ellis Park: The most successful team in World Cup history Brazil won a hard earned match against a resilient Korea DPR side as the Koreans stood firm defensively until Maicon made a breakthrough in the second half to help Brazil win 2-1 in Johannesberg at Ellis Park.

Coming into the game, the game was considered as the biggest mismatch of World Cup history with the Asian side ranked 104 in the Fifa rankings taking on the mighty Brazilians.

The match kicked off with Robhino making a good run in the opening two minutes but was stopped eventually by the Korean defense.

Elano had a shot on goal in the 7th minute but his attempt was off target.

Slowly after his effort the Brazilian attack began to express themselfs with Robhino trying out a shot on goal a minute after Elano's attempt but his shot was wide of goal as well.

In the 17th minute Koreans put some quick short passes and pushed forward with C. Jong trying a long range shot but he was unable to hit the target.

The Samba boys pushing for the opening goal, went forward in the 20th minute with Robhino getting a good through-ball from Fabiano, Robhino made a good turn and shot from tight spot but his effort was easily gathered by the Korean goalkeeper.

The Koreans kept it tight, not giving any space for the Samba boys to make a break-through.

Maicon in the 27th minute hit a long range drive from the right flank but his shot was put away by the Korean Keeper.

The Koreans looked for counter-attack play and made the Brazilian defense running as well.

Soon as the clocked ticked by the Korean resistance seemed to frustrate the Samba boys with the defense standing solid and giving them no chance to aim for goal.

The Brazilians tried their best to break the Korean wall but the wall seemed rock solid as the first 40 minutes saw no goals from either side. As expected, the Koreans displayed all their heart and strength to hold the Samba boys from scoring a goal, closing the Brazilian strikers tightly and not letting them any room for
shot.

Coming into the game Brazil had never lost their opening game since 1934.

The Samba boys who usually attack from the middle were forced to go wide making it difficult angle for the strikers to make a shot.

In the second half Brazil straight way started in an attacking mode looking for the opening goal.

In the 50th minute Brazil got a free kick in a dangerous position as Kaka was taken down by Korean defense.

M Bastos hit a left footed drive from the free kick but his effort was wide off the target.

Robhino hit a powerful drive in the 53rd minute but his shot was again wide off the mark.

In the 55th minute Maicon finally got the breakthrough for the Samba boys as he smashed past a goal from a tight angle giving no chance to the Korean goalkeeper. His fifth international goal for Brazil.

Grown with confidence after scoring the goal, the Brazilians continued to dominate position and push forward as they held the ball.

In the 63rd minute Fabiano went for another position after getting a decent ball but his left footed shot was off target.

The Koreans on the other hand got those odd occasional possession and tried to drive forward but they were never really able to create good chance to get the equaliser.

Elano struck Brazil's second goal in the 72nd minute as Robhino passed a quality ball from the left.

The Samba boys finally looked to be playing in their traditional way, with dominance and attack every now and then.

Nilmaar who came in for goal scorer Elano had a shot on goal in the 79th minute but his shot was collected by the Korean goalkeeper.

The Koreans seemed to be tired down as the Brazilians looked out for their third goal, dominating most of the play making those quick moves every now and then and driving shots and goals keeping the Korean goal keeper on his toes.

In the 86th minute J Tae Se got a testing ball to score and bring some respite for the Koreans but the ball was cleared boldly by Brazilian defense who was running behind the striker.

J Yun Nam stunned the Brazilians with a late goal in the 89th minute, initiated from a free kick from quite a distance to bring some light for the Koreans.
A deserved goal for the Koreans as the Brazilians managed to hold on with the lead as the final whistle blew to get a winning start.


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