With less than 24 hours to kickoff, the South Korean World Cup team’s biggest hurdle to overcome now is to stay focused in order to avoid defeat, head coach Hong Myung-bo noted on Monday.Hong said that in many previous matches, goals were generally scored early on in the first half. Attackers would barrel through an inattentive defense, as was seen when Ghana trounced Korea 4-0 in their final World Cup friendly on June 9.“What is most important for us is concentration,” said Hong at a press conf

After 90 brutal minutes of end-to-end action, the Americans emerged with a thrilling 2-1 win over Ghana.``It was a grind, but it was a wonderful win at the end of the day,'' coach Jurgen Klinsmann said.U.S. fans were screaming for revenge Monday after the Black Stars eliminated the Americans from the last two Cups. They got it. At a price.(AP-Yonhap)Clint Dempsey scored a shocking goal a half-minute in, but the U.S. couldn't make it stand up. Andre Ayew tied the score in the 82nd minute after a

Nigeria and Iran delivered the first draw of the World Cup on Monday as they ground out a scrappy 0-0 stalemate in their opening match in Group F. The draw at the Arena da Baixada in the southern Brazilian city of Curitiba followed 12 mostly high scoring and attacking games. After a first half in which Nigeria failed to capitalize on its dominance, chances were few and far between in the second. (Xinhua-Yonhap)In the early passages of play, Nigeria had shown menace, with much of its attacking th

The increasingly clandestine South Korea trained behind closed doors for the third straight day on Sunday, with the ever-important opening group match against Russia just round the corner.South Korea on Sunday arrived in Cuiaba, the site of its Group H contest against Russia two days later. The Asian representative trained at the Federal University of Mato Grosso in the central-west city, and head coach Hong Myung-bo opened only the first 15 minutes of the session to the media. (Yonhap)The match

Lionel Messi scored a trademark individual goal as Argentina opened their World Cup campaign with a narrow 2-1 win over Bosnia-Hercegovina at Rio de Janeiro's renovated Maracana on Sunday.The Barcelona superstar created the third-minute own goal by Sead Kolasinac with which Argentina went ahead, but it took a mid-match tactical shift for him to really start influencing proceedings. (AP-Yonhap)In the 65th minute he scored a goal befitting of the iconic 78,800-seater stadium, collecting the ball d

Haris Seferovic scored in the last minute of injury time to grab Switzerland a dramatic 2-1 win over Ecuador in their Group E game at the World Cup finals in Brasilia on Sunday.Seferovic's winner capped a remarkable comeback by the top seeds in the group as fellow substitute Admer Mehmidi had taken just 121 seconds to make his mark as he levelled the game in the 48th minute. (AP-Yonhap)Enner Valencia had given Ecuador the lead midway through the first-half as he scored for the fifth successive g

North Korea on Sunday criticized South Korean President Park Geun-hye's policy toward the communist country that it said has led to a collapse of inter-Korean relations.Pyongyang's denunciation was made on the 14th anniversary of a joint declaration at their landmark summit in June 2000 that paved the way for eased military tensions and economic cooperation between the sides after decades of hostility.The summit agreement, known as the June 15 South-North Joint Declaration, came at the end of th

아프리카 축구강호 코트디부아르가 아시아 챔피 언 일본에 역전승을 거두고 사상 첫 월드컵 본선 조별리그 통과의 희망을 부풀렸다.사브리 라무시(프랑스) 감독이 이끄는 코트디부아르 대표팀은 15일(한국시간) 브 라질 헤시피의 페르남부쿠 경기장에서 열린 2014 브라질 월드컵 조별리그 C조 1차전 에서 전반 혼다 게이스케(AS밀란)에게 선제골을 얻어 맞았지만 후반 윌프리드 보니( 스완지시티), 제르비뉴(AS로마)의 연속골로 일본에 2-1로 이겼다.이로써 코트디부아르는 앞서 그리스를 3-0으로 완파한 콜롬비아와 승점은 같고 골 득실차에서 뒤진 조 2위에 자리했다.C조에서는 시드를 배정받은 콜롬비아의 조별리그 통과가 유력한 가운데 일본과 코트디부아르가 남은 한장의 16강 티켓을 놓고 다툴 것으로 전망된다.코트디부아르는 일본을 꺾어 16강 진출을 향해 산뜻하게 첫 걸음을 뗐다.2006년 독일 대회부터 3회 연속 월드컵 본선 무대에 오른 코트디부아르는  아프 리카 최강 전력임에도 이전 두 차례 대

The United States ordered an aircraft carrier into the Persian Gulf and laid out specific ways for Iraq to show it is forging the national unity necessary to gain assistance in its fight against Islamic insurgents.Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on Saturday ordered the USS George H.W. Bush from the northern Arabian Sea as President Barack Obama considered possible military options for Iraq. Hagel's press secretary, Rear Adm. John Kirby, said the move will give Obama additional flexibility if milit

The United States ordered an aircraft carrier into the Gulf Saturday over the Iraq crisis, where Sunni Arab jihadists have seized a swathe of the country, as Shiite Iran said it would consider helping foe Washington should it take action.The order came as Iraqi commanders that soldiers had recaptured two towns north of Baghdad, and thousands of volunteers answered a call to arms from top Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani.US President Barack Obama said he was "looking at all the option

Ivory Coast scored two goals in two minutes to beat Asian giants Japan 2-1 in their World Cup Group C battle on Saturday.Japan's AC Milan star Keisuke Honda knocked the Elephants groggy with a 16th minute goal to make it 1-0.But goals from Wilfried Bony and Gervinho in the 64th and 66th minutes saw Ivory Coast home. (AP-Yonhap)Honda gave Japan hope after escaping his markers at the edge of the penalty area and firing home a left foot shot that gave Boubacar Barry Copa in the Ivory Coast goal no

Prosecutors sought an arrest warrant Sunday for the elder brother of the fugitive owner of the sunken ferry Sewol on charges of embezzlement and violation of a law requiring real names in property deals.The prosecution move came two days after Yoo Byung-ill, 75, was apprehended on a mountain road nearby the sprawling religious compound belonging to the Evangelical Baptist Church in Anseong, about 80 kilometers south of Seoul. He is the elder brother of Yoo Byung-eun, 73, who is believed to own C

South Korea's income disparity significantly widened over the past years with the gap between top and low income earners growing at one of the fastest rates in the world, data showed Sunday.According to the state statistics office, the average monthly income of South Korea's urban households nearly doubled from about 2.1 million won (US$2,060) in 1990 to a little over 3.9 million won last year.However, the country's Gini coefficient widened from 0.256 to 0.280 over the cited period.Gini coeffici

Four central European countries "strongly support" the denuclearization of North Korea as stability on the divided Korean Peninsula will help enhance their ties with South Korea, and urged the reclusive nation to be open to the outside world, their high-ranking diplomats have said.The so-called "Visegrad Group" member countries also want to further strengthen cooperation with Seoul and broaden the scope of ties in various fields, they said.The Visegrad Group, established in 1991, is an alliance

Colombia's new generation unlocked Greece's notoriously steely defense with such verve that they could just have become the team to beat in Group C at the World Cup.The Colombians beat Greece 3-0 on Saturday, and didn't need star striker Radamel Falcao to do it.  (AFP-Yonhap)Falcao, who was ruled out of the World Cup due to a knee injury, was just one among the thousands of Colombia supporters who dominated the crowd, turning Mineirao Stadium into a sea of yellow, tinged with red and blue in the

Costa Rica came from behind to stun Uruguay 3-1 Saturday at the World Cup, opening the tough Group D with a major upset. Uruguay left star striker Luis Suarez on the bench but went ahead when Edinson Cavani scored a penalty in the 24th minute. The Central Americans fought back after the break and lone striker Joel Campbell drive in a ball headed down by Celso Borges in the 54th  to beat goalkeeper Fernando Muslera. Oscar Duarte dived past the outstretched foot of Uruguay's Cristian Stuani to hea

Mario Balotelli scored with a second-half header Saturday to give Italy a 2-1 win over England at the World Cup.The Italy striker was left free by his marker Gary Cahill and nodded a cross from Antonio Candreva past goalkeeper Joe Hart in the 50th minute.Claudio Marchisio scored first for Italy, sending a long shot through a crowded area and past a diving Hart in the 35th. Daniel Sturridge equalized for England two minutes later, tapping in a cross from Wayne Rooney. (AFP-Yonhap)The win puts Ita

Two opposition lawmakers lost their parliamentary seats as the top court on Thursday confirmed their suspended jail terms in criminal cases.Rep. Bae Ki-woon of the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy was sentenced to six months in prison with a two-year stay by the Supreme Court for violating the Public Official Election Act.Bae was convicted of bribing his accountant, identified only by his surname Kim, in February 2012 in exchange for spending election expenses that exceeded th

Chinese President Xi Jinping will "soon" visit Seoul for a summit meeting with South Korean President Park Geun-hye, South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se said Thursday, voicing hope that the upcoming visit by Xi will help strengthen bilateral relations. Yun made the remarks in his congratulatory speech for a public diplomacy forum in Beijing between South Korea and China. The speech was read by South Korean Ambassador to China Kwon Young-se. "Chinese President Xi Jinping will soon visit So

North Korea is expanding its passenger train routes to China and Russia, a North Korea website said Thursday, reflecting the communist country's efforts to attract more foreign travelers.North Korea's official portal site Naenara disclosed the expansion in its article featuring the country's international passenger train joint venture, established in April 2012, with Hong Kong.The joint firm is currently operating three passenger train lines linking Pyongyang to China's Dandong, Beijing and Shen