Argentina secured their place in the second round of the World Cup thanks to a 4-1 win over South Korea at Soccer City.
Diego Maradona's men went ahead in the 17th minute when Park Chu-Young deflected a free-kick from Lionel Messi into his own net.
The lead was extended in the 33rd minute when Maxi Rodríguez's floated cross was flicked on by Nicolás Burdisso to Gonzalo Higuaín, who put his free header beyond Jung Sung-Ryong.
Just when it looked like Argentina would go into half-time with a commanding 2-0 lead they shot themselves in the foot as Martín Demichelis took his eye off a header from Chu-Young, allowing Lee Chung-Yong to steal in and score just before the interval.
Higuaín settled the contest after Messi beat two defenders in the box and squared for the forward to fire into an empty net on 76 minutes.
Argentina added the icing on the cake four minutes later as Messi and sub Sergio Agüero combined brilliantly on a swift attack before the latter's cross was met by Higuaín with a textbook header.
Lineups:
Argentina: Sergio Romero; Jonás Gutiérrez, Martín Demichelis, Walter Samuel (Nicolás Burdisso, 23), Gabriel Heinze; Maxi Rodríguez, Javier Mascherano, Ángel di María; Gonzalo Higuaín (Mario Bolatti, 82), Lionel Messi, Carlos Tévez (Sergio Agüero, 75)
South Korea: Jung Sung-Ryong; Oh Beom-Seok, Cho Yong-Hyung, Lee Jung-Soo, Lee Young-Pyo; Ki Sung-Yong (Kim Nam-Il, 46), Kim Jung-Woo; Lee Chung-Yong (Lee Dong-Gook, 82), Park Ji-Sung, Yeom Ki-Hun; Park Chu-Young
Statistics:
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Diego Maradona's men went ahead in the 17th minute when Park Chu-Young deflected a free-kick from Lionel Messi into his own net.
The lead was extended in the 33rd minute when Maxi Rodríguez's floated cross was flicked on by Nicolás Burdisso to Gonzalo Higuaín, who put his free header beyond Jung Sung-Ryong.
Just when it looked like Argentina would go into half-time with a commanding 2-0 lead they shot themselves in the foot as Martín Demichelis took his eye off a header from Chu-Young, allowing Lee Chung-Yong to steal in and score just before the interval.
Higuaín settled the contest after Messi beat two defenders in the box and squared for the forward to fire into an empty net on 76 minutes.
Argentina added the icing on the cake four minutes later as Messi and sub Sergio Agüero combined brilliantly on a swift attack before the latter's cross was met by Higuaín with a textbook header.
Lineups:
Argentina: Sergio Romero; Jonás Gutiérrez, Martín Demichelis, Walter Samuel (Nicolás Burdisso, 23), Gabriel Heinze; Maxi Rodríguez, Javier Mascherano, Ángel di María; Gonzalo Higuaín (Mario Bolatti, 82), Lionel Messi, Carlos Tévez (Sergio Agüero, 75)
South Korea: Jung Sung-Ryong; Oh Beom-Seok, Cho Yong-Hyung, Lee Jung-Soo, Lee Young-Pyo; Ki Sung-Yong (Kim Nam-Il, 46), Kim Jung-Woo; Lee Chung-Yong (Lee Dong-Gook, 82), Park Ji-Sung, Yeom Ki-Hun; Park Chu-Young
Statistics:
| Shots on target : | 11 | - | 4 |
| Shots off target : | 9 | - | 4 |
| Ball possession (%) : | 57 | - | 43 |
| Corner kicks : | 6 | - | 2 |
| Offsides : | 4 | - | 0 |
| Fouls : | 15 | - | 14 |
| Yellow cards : | 3 | - | 2 |
| Red cards : | 0 | - | 0 |
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