SEOUL, June 24 (UPI) -- A three-time winner, Germany will take the field in a World Cup semifinal for the 10th time Tuesday, when it battles co-host South Korea, which has reached this stage for the first time.
Despite posting a 1-0 quarterfinals win on Friday, the Germans admitted to being outplayed by the feisty Americans and have advanced to the final four in part due to a favorable draw.
Unlike past World Cups, when Germany was able to rely on sheer skill, talent and confidence, this time luck played a role.
Oliver Kahn, arguably the world's best goalkeeper, also had a terrific performance in Germany's 1-0 round-of-16 success against Paraguay.
Even when fielding a comparatively weak team, Germany still manages to enjoy success in soccer's showcase event. However, coach Rudy Voeller's men need to raise their level of play, and not lean on Kahn to bail them out, if they are to make a record seventh finals appearance.
Kahn has kept four clean sheets in the five matches and has been by far Germany's best player.
Midfielder Michael Ballack seems to be involved in Germany's best scoring opportunities and Oliver Neuville has performed well at the World Cup. Christian Ziege has turned provider at key times and Miroslav Klose must find the back of the net, which he has not done since the first round.
Klose, who has collected five goals, is the joint goal-scoring leader in the tournament. Ballack and Ziege top the assist list with four and three, respectively.
Expect this semifinal to feature many scoring opportunities and a lot of physical play. Germany has recorded a tournament-high 72 shots and South Korea is not far behind with 63. Meanwhile, these sides top the list of fouls committed.
South Korea's initial hopes at this World Cup involved getting the monkey off its back by winning its first World Cup match and simply reaching the second round.
The Koreans did far more than that and, no matter the contentious circumstances in which they qualified for the semifinals, anything can happen in this match.
South Korea is the first Asian country to compete in a World Cup semifinal. After recording its first-ever World Cup victory against Poland in group play, with the help of tremendous hometown support, South Korea worked out a draw against the United States and upset traditional European soccer powers Portugal in the first round, Italy on a golden goal in the round of 16 and Spain on penalty kicks in the quarterfinals.
Many critics have pointed to numerous calls that have gone the co-host's way and that played a major factor in the outcomes, particularly against Italy and Spain.
The momentum swung dramatically in South Korea's favor on June 18 during the first half of overtime on a controversial decision by referee Byron Moreno of Ecuador. Moreno issued Francesco Totti his second yellow card of the match for allegedly diving when the television replay clearly showed a clean tackle in the box legally brought the Italian playmaker down.
With his team reduced to 10 men and having seen the replay on a nearby TV monitor, Italy coach Giovanni Trapattoni banged on the transparent back of his dugout to get the attention of a FIFA official, who simply shrugged his shoulders.
Spain had what appeared to be a valid goal disallowed on Saturday as the ball was mistakenly ruled by the linesman to have traveled over the end line in the second minute of extra time. Joaquin made the cross and Fernando Morientes headed the ball home. But the whistle blew as the linesman had raised his flag.
But in the end what counts is the result on the scoreboard.
Much of Korea's good run is thanks to Dutchman Hiddink and the European influence he has brought to a previously mediocre team. Hiddink, who instituted a mentality of team play over individual, may be granted honorary Korean citizenship and have a statue erected in his honor on the island of Jeju.
Also, credit must be given to the Korean players for their excellent physical condition -- possibly the best of any team in the tournament.
The teams met once before, in the 1994 World Cup, when the European side recorded a 3-2 victory.
