• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

Quick strikes propel Algeria past South Korea

Jul 10, 2014 - 1:19 AM Porto Alegre, Brazil (SportsNetwork.com) - Algeria struck three times in a span of 12 first-half minutes on Sunday en route to a comfortable 4-2 destruction of South Korea at the Estadio Beira-Rio.

Islam Slimani opened the scoring for Algeria after 26 minutes and Rafik Halliche doubled the advantage two minutes later. Abdelmoumene Djabou then made it a three-goal margin for the Algerians in the 38th minute.

South Korea got back into the match five minutes into the second half through a goal from Bayer Leverkusen man Son Heung-Min, but 12 minutes later Yacine Brahimi restored Algeria's three-goal cushion.

Koo Ja-Cheol pulled a second goal back for South Korea in the 72nd minute, but the mountain ultimately proved too large to scale.

Algeria moves into second place in Group H with three points and a real chance to advance to the knockout round, while earning its first World Cup win since 1982 and becoming the first African nation to score four goals in a World Cup match.

"I would like to dedicate this victory to the fans who were here and the Algerian people back home who have waited a long time for this victory. It means a lot to us all," Algeria coach Vahid Halilhodzic said."Today the team played to its strengths. I told the players to keep it tight for the first 15 minutes and I felt that did extremely well and effectively in the first half - it was almost perfect. We slowed a little during the second half, why I'm not sure. Now we have to try to get a good result against Russia and qualify for the Round of 16. Anything is possible."

South Korea remains on one point in the group, but can still advance with a win over Belgium on Thursday and some outside assistance.

Algeria had the better of the play early on, creating a plethora of chances before opening the scoring in the 26th minute as Carl Medjani sent a long ball over the top to the feet of Slimani, who did well to split two South Korean defenders and touch it past goalkeeper Jung Sung-Ryong.

Two minutes later the Algerians doubled their advantage when Djabou served a perfect corner kick into the penalty area where Halliche got to the ball ahead of an out-of-position Jung and nodded it home with pace.

Djabou then made it 3-0 for Algeria seven minutes before the intermission when he found himself alone in the box to accept a square ball from Slimani and slide it home for a three-goal halftime lead.

It looked done and dusted for Algeria, but South Korea forced its way back into the match five minutes into the second half when Son collected a long pass from Ki Sung-Yueng, turned and beat Algeria goalkeeper Rais M'Bolhi through the legs.

But the Algerians restored their three-goal margin in the 62nd minute as Sofiane Feghouli and Brahimi worked a fantastic one-two through the Korean defense and Brahimi finished the move by firing a shot underneath Jung.

Again South Korea pulled one back through Koo 18 minutes from time, but it wasn't enough as the Algerians held out for a famous victory.

"The result speaks for itself. We made mistakes in our preparation and during the match, but we need to look ahead now. There were lapses in concentration, particularly in defensive areas and we didn't play to our usual standard," South Korea coach Hong Myung-Bo said. "But I must stress, we did not underestimate Algeria. Today their team was completely different than the one that played against Belgium. They played much better today and deserved the win. Now we just need to move on now. We will do our best until the end."

Algeria will finish its Group H campaign against Russia on Thursday, while South Korea will face Belgium simultaneously.