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S. Korea stuns Switzerland in football friendly

South Korea stunned Switzerland with a 2-1 victory in their football friendly match here on Friday, erasing an earlier deficit in the spirited second half.

At Seoul World Cup Stadium, Bolton Wanderers winger Lee Chung-yong headed in the go-ahead goal in the 86th minute, as the 56th-ranked hosts upset the world No. 7.

South Korea's record under head coach Hong Myung-bo improved to three wins, three losses and three draws.

It was the first clash between the two countries since Switzerland defeated South Korea 2-0 in the final Group G match at the 2006 World Cup in Germany. The loss knocked South Korea out of the tournament, while Switzerland advanced to the round of 16.

This was also South Korea's final friendly match at home this year. The country will next take on the 19th-ranked Russia in Dubai on Tuesday for its last international contest of 2013.

South Korea came out of the gate with more energy, but Switzerland struck first in the sixth minute. Pajtim Kasami stole Lee Yong's clearing attempt in midfield and sprinted toward the South Korean net, before firing one under the hands of the diving goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu.

South Korea had a goal disallowed on an offside call in the 13th minute. Kim Shin-wook, the 196-centimeter striker, headed in a lengthy free kick by Ki Sung-yueng from midfield, but was ruled to have been behind the Swiss defense on the play.

Switzerland nearly doubled the lead in the 22nd, when forward Haris Seferovic took a long outlet pass and broke in alone on Kim Seung-gyu. The South Korean netminder stood his ground this time and kept out Seferovic's shot from the top of the arc.

South Koreans controlled the pace to open the second half, and their efforts finally bore fruit in the 58th, when Hong Jeong-ho, the 188-centimeter defender, dashed toward the net and jumped over a crowd of Swiss players to head in Ki's corner from left.

It was Hong's first international goal in his 21st match.

Lee Chung-yong then sealed the deal for the hosts, jumping over Gokhan Inler to head in a picture-perfect cross by Lee Keun-ho from left wing. Goalkeeper Diego Benaglio stood froze on the ground and helplessly watched the ball get past him and into the net.

Lee almost picked up his second goal in injury time, but Benaglio this time made a diving save on Lee's curling shot from the left corner of the box.

Following Hong's equalizer, Lee had almost given South Korea a lead in the 71st. He intercepted a pass in midfield and penetrated deep into the Swiss zone, but his shot was deflected out of play by two opposing defenders.

Though he didn't score a goal, forward Kim Shin-wook was also the offensive spark plug for South Korea. In the 55th, Kim took a feed from midfield and deftly set up the charging Lee Chung-yong, whose shot from the top of the box was barely kept out by goalkeeper Benaglio.

Two minutes later, Kim sent a perfect cross for the head of Lee Keun-ho, but Benaglio was there to punch it out of play.

The flustered Switzerland spent the majority of the second half fending off feisty South Koreans, and barely mounted any challenge against Kim Seung-gyu in the South Korean net.

The victorious coach Hong praised his players for fighting back from the 1-0 deficit.

"After giving up an early goal against a strong opponent, we could have come apart," Hong said. "But our players showed a lot of poise as they tried to regain control. In the second half, our team played the way we wanted on both offense and defense."

Both South Korea and Switzerland have qualified for next year's World Cup in Brazil, and they could be drawn in the same group again. Hong said he expects Switzerland to play better if the two meet again at the World Cup but added, "Having won this friendly match should be a great confidence boost for our young players."

Hong also acknowledged Kim Shin-wook's play on offense. During the East Asian Cup tournament in July, the coach lashed out at the forward, saying his presence on the field was actually detrimental to the team's offensive flow because his teammates would only seek to send crosses for his head, rather than try to create chances on the ground.

Kim had been kept out of Hong's squad for the past three months before returning for the two November contests. Hong admitted he hadn't entirely figured out Kim's strengths as a striker during the East Asian Cup and applauded the player's work ethic.

"He can head the ball against anyone, and he's also a great technician for a player his size," Hong said. "We'd worked on putting together ground attacks with Kim, and it worked out perfectly. It was also great to see him give his best for 80 minutes (before being replaced)."

Ottmar Hitzfeld, head coach for Switzerland, said his players had trouble finding their rhythm against "speedy" South Koreans.

"South Koreans had a lot of fastbreak opportunities," the coach said through an interpreter. "South Korea deserved to win. They had many opportunities, and our defenders should thank the goalkeeper Benaglio for not allowing more goals."

Hitzfeld said he was happy with his team's performance in the first half, but lamented that his players, still exhausted from a long trip, suffered a lapse of concentration in the second half. (Yonhap News)