Hope floats

U.S. positive despite 1-0 loss to South Korea

Landon Donovan (right) fights to hold off Kim Nam-il of South Korea. AP

SEOGWIPO, South Korea (AP) -- The United States lost 1-0 to South Korea in a soccer friendly Sunday, but its head coach said he was "still optimistic" about his team reaching the second round in next year's World Cup finals.

Sunday's match took on new significance after the two countries were grouped with Portugal and Poland in a drawing earlier this month for the world's showcase soccer tournament, which will be co-hosted by South Korea and Japan on May 31-June 30.

"I'm still optimistic," U.S. head coach Bruce Arena said about the possibility of his team getting past the 32-nation first round. His confidence in his team was "not at all" affected by the defeat, he added.

Surviving the first-round elimination is the goal for both the United States and South Korea. The United States and South Korea have made four and five straight World Cup appearances, respectively, but the Asian nation never reached the 16-team second round.

Soccer experts predict that Portugal -- ranked fourth in the world by soccer's world governing body, FIFA -- will take the group, while the others will compete for the second berth in the next round.

Sunday's match was played before a capacity crowd of 42,000 at the newly built Seogwipo World Cup stadium on South Korea's southernmost resort island of Jeju. The two teams fought a spirited match in drizzling rain but missed many chances to score.

The winning goal came in the 20th minute when defender Yoo Sang-chul headed a low-flying corner by forward Lee Chun-soo that flew over U.S. goalie Zach Thornton and bounced in after hitting the bar.

The United States came close to scoring in the 79th minute when an incisive shot by forward Ante Razov from short range hit a post during a goal-mouth scramble.

One minute later, a header by newly capped forward Jeff Cunningham from close range barely missed the goal.

"The first 30 minutes were quite hectic for us," Arena said, noting that his team was heavily on the defensive. "But we played much better in the second half."

South Korean head coach Guus Hiddink said he was "just positive" about the results but noted that the U.S. team had lacked star players.

The U.S. team missed several Europe-based star players, including Earnie Stewart who led the team in scoring with five goals during World Cup qualifiers. Stewert plays for NAC Breda of the Netherlands.

Arena also noted that he tried five relatively inexperienced players in Sunday's match. "Certainly, the team will look much different from today. Today's match does not affect our preparation," he said.

LINEUPS:

United States: Zach Thornton, Jeff Agoos (captain), Carlos Llamosa, Pablo Mastroeni (Richard Mulrooney, 68), Chris Armas, Diego Gutierrez (Carlos Bocanegra, 46), Cobi Jones (Brian West, 72), Manny Lagos, Brian McBride (Ante Razov, 56), Landon Donovan, Josh Wolff (Jeff Cunningham, 46).

South Korea: Kim Byung-ji, Yoo Sang-chul (captain), Choi Jin-chul (Choi Sung-yong, 76), Song Chong-gug, Kim Nam-il (Lee Young-pyo, 55), Lee Eul-yong, Kim Sang-sik, Choi Tai-uk, Lee Chun-soo, Park Ji-sung (Kim Doh-keun, 81), Hwang Sun-hong (Kim Do-hoon, 68).

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