The final Group B match of the FIFA 2010 World Cup between South Korea and Nigeria at Moses Mabhida Stadium ended in a 2-2 draw.
South Korea will now advance to the second round of the tournament on Tuesday. Argentina will advance along with South Korea, but Greece and Nigeria have been eliminated from the competition.
Kalu Uche gave Nigeria the lead after 12 minutes, but a goal from Lee Jung-Soo before halftime leveled the score.
The Koreans then went in front four minutes after the restart through a Park Chu-Young free kick before Ayegbeni Yakubu's penalty kick pulled Nigeria even again.
But Nigeria could not find another goal and finished on the bottom of the table with one point, while South Korea will face Uruguay in the first round of 16 match Saturday as the second-place team from Group B.
Argentina beat Greece 2-0 in the other contest in Group B, capping a perfect three wins from three matches for the South American side. Argentina plays Mexico on Sunday in the round of 16.
An early close-range effort from Park Chu-Young following a defensive mistake from Nigeria almost found the back of the net, but Nigeria took the lead with its first good opportunity of the match.
Chidi Odiah set up the goal with a right-wing cross to the middle of the box that allowed Uche to cut in front of defender Cha Du-Ri and deposit a first- time shot inside the right post.
Uche came within inches of doubling his tally in the 36th minute with a driven shot from long-range that struck the right post and stayed out.
But just two minutes later, the Koreans tied the match from a free kick as Ki Sung-Yeung picked out Lee Jung-Soo at the back post for a close-range volley past goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama.
Another set piece early in the second half allowed Park Chu-Young to curl the ball inside the right post past Enyeama, who didn't see the ball well and reacted late.
Yakubu then gave us the miss of the tournament when he was left all alone in front of goal but somehow redirected Yussuf Ayila's low cross wide from six yards with an empty net staring him in the face.
However, Yakubu had a chance to atone for his miss when Chinedu Ogbuke Obasi was brought down inside the box by South Korea's Kim Nam-Il.
The big striker then sent goalkeeper Jung Sung-Ryong the wrong way from the spot, and Nigeria piled the pressure on in the final 15 minutes.
Odiah had a good effort tipped past the post before the substitute Obafemi Martins missed the best chance to win the game when he chipped his shot wide from inside the area with just the goalkeeper to beat.
Victor Obinna also had two long-range efforts come close for Nigeria, but both failed to hit the target in the dying minutes as Nigeria's World Cup came to an end. Despite losing its first two matches, Nigeria would have advanced with a win over South Korea.
"Our goal was to reach the last 16. We succeeded in doing this for the first time away from home," South Korea captain Park Ji-sung said. "So I'm very happy we accomplished this in South Africa. All of the players know how important this is."
Argentina will play Mexico Sunday (June 27th) and South Korea will play Uruguay on Saturday (June 26th).
South Korea will now advance to the second round of the tournament on Tuesday. Argentina will advance along with South Korea, but Greece and Nigeria have been eliminated from the competition.
Kalu Uche gave Nigeria the lead after 12 minutes, but a goal from Lee Jung-Soo before halftime leveled the score.
The Koreans then went in front four minutes after the restart through a Park Chu-Young free kick before Ayegbeni Yakubu's penalty kick pulled Nigeria even again.
But Nigeria could not find another goal and finished on the bottom of the table with one point, while South Korea will face Uruguay in the first round of 16 match Saturday as the second-place team from Group B.
Argentina beat Greece 2-0 in the other contest in Group B, capping a perfect three wins from three matches for the South American side. Argentina plays Mexico on Sunday in the round of 16.
An early close-range effort from Park Chu-Young following a defensive mistake from Nigeria almost found the back of the net, but Nigeria took the lead with its first good opportunity of the match.
Chidi Odiah set up the goal with a right-wing cross to the middle of the box that allowed Uche to cut in front of defender Cha Du-Ri and deposit a first- time shot inside the right post.
Uche came within inches of doubling his tally in the 36th minute with a driven shot from long-range that struck the right post and stayed out.
But just two minutes later, the Koreans tied the match from a free kick as Ki Sung-Yeung picked out Lee Jung-Soo at the back post for a close-range volley past goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama.
Yakubu then gave us the miss of the tournament when he was left all alone in front of goal but somehow redirected Yussuf Ayila's low cross wide from six yards with an empty net staring him in the face.
However, Yakubu had a chance to atone for his miss when Chinedu Ogbuke Obasi was brought down inside the box by South Korea's Kim Nam-Il.
The big striker then sent goalkeeper Jung Sung-Ryong the wrong way from the spot, and Nigeria piled the pressure on in the final 15 minutes.
Odiah had a good effort tipped past the post before the substitute Obafemi Martins missed the best chance to win the game when he chipped his shot wide from inside the area with just the goalkeeper to beat.
Victor Obinna also had two long-range efforts come close for Nigeria, but both failed to hit the target in the dying minutes as Nigeria's World Cup came to an end. Despite losing its first two matches, Nigeria would have advanced with a win over South Korea.
"Our goal was to reach the last 16. We succeeded in doing this for the first time away from home," South Korea captain Park Ji-sung said. "So I'm very happy we accomplished this in South Africa. All of the players know how important this is."
Argentina will play Mexico Sunday (June 27th) and South Korea will play Uruguay on Saturday (June 26th).
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