Park gives South Korea a share of the spoils in Iran

=(Picture)=Manchester United’s Park Ji-Sung helped South Korea to a share of the spoils in an Asian heavyweight World Cup qualifying clash with Iran which ended 1-1- here at a rain-lashed Azadi stadium Wednesday.

Javad Nekounam, who plays for Spanish side Osasuna, sent more than 80,000 home fans wild when he fired home a close range free kick for Iran on the hour mark.

But Park pounced with a decisive header 21 minutes later when Iranian goalkeepr Mehdi Rahmati managed to only punch out an incoming freekick, giving the 300 South Korean expatriates a late reason to celebrate.

Iran’s national team coach Ali Daei, who two days ago promised home fans a win against South Korea, was defiant, vowing he would make sure Iran qualified for the finals.

“This is football. I am happy with my players’ performance, they put in a lot of effort.

“But rest assured I will take Team Melli (national team) to the World Cup finals,” Daei was quoted As saying by the ISNA news agency.

He added: “It was a close match, and while I wouldn’t say they (Korea) performed better, people have to accept that we drew with a big team.”

Iran’s next World Cup qualifier will be against another west Asian heavyweight, Saudi Arabia, in Tehran on March 28. Their previous match in the group, held in Riyadh, ended in a 1-1 draw.

South Korea coach Huh Jung-Moo was happy with a share of the spoils but he could not feeling short-changed by the result.

“I am happy we scored an equaliser but I am not happy for ending up with only one point in Tehran,” said the South Korean coach.

“We came to Tehran to win the match, and you saw that in our performance today, we were concentrated on the match until the last minute of the game.”

With North Korea boosting their qualifying chances with a win over Saudi Arabia Wednesday, Huh was coy about who would qualify from Group Two.

“We have to be patient and wait for the final match. I think that even the United Arab Emirates have a chance of making it,” he added.

The result leaves South Korea top of the World Cup qualifying Asia Zone Group 2 with eight points, trailed by North Korea on seven points, followed by Iran with six points.

Saudi Arabia are fourth on four points with the United Arab Emirates on one point. All teams have played four matches so far.

Despite the rain that had drenched the city since early morning, home fans had been hoping for a win that would boost Iran’s qualifying hopes in the wake of two previous lacklustre performances.

Iran drew 1-1 with the United Arab Emirates in November and shared the spoils against Thailand leaving Iran’s national team coach Daei under pressure.

The top two in each group qualify for the World Cup finals in South Africa.

The third-place teams in groups one and two play-off home and away, with the winner battling Oceania zone victors New Zealand for a place in the finals.