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DAEJEON, South Korea (Ticker) -- A three-time World Cup winner, Italy looks to avoid a second embarrassing defeat to a team from this peninsula on Tuesday, when the Azzurri faces co-host South Korea in the round of 16. The Italians won the World Cup in 1934, 1938 and 1982. But almost as famous as the Azzurri's triumphs is perhaps their most shocking defeat in their glorious history in this event. In the opening round of the 1966 World Cup, Pak Doo Ik scored the lone goal in North Korea's 1-0 upset of Italy in Middlesbrough. That result sent the little-known Asian side into the quarterfinals and sent the European giants home. South Korea now has the opportunity to duplicate the accomplishment of its archrival 36 years ago. "Everybody who follows football knows about Pak's goal and how it put Italy out of the World Cup," said Peter Velappen, the general secretary of the Asian Football Confederation. "Now all these years down the road, South Korea have the chance to emulate North Korea and knock Italy out." Despite the fact this has been a tournament littered with surprising results, South Korea coach Guus Hiddink -- a Dutchman -- is downplaying such comparisons. "There's a lot of talk about the North Korea result over Italy. But that was many years ago and does not really have any relevance to this match," he said. South Korea already has gone farther in this World Cup than its previous five. In fact, the Koreans were 0-10-4 in their previous five appearances in the event. But in Group D, they knocked off Poland and Portugal and worked out a draw with the United States. Meanwhile, Italy is not concerning itself with the past because the team must deal with its current injury problems. Parma's Fabio Cannavaro will be serving a one-match ban and fellow central defender Alessandro Nesta is doubtful due to a lingering foot injury. Marco Materazzi, who was heavily criticized for his performance after replacing Nesta in the loss to Croatia, may be in the starting 11. But Italy coach Giovanni Trapattoni also may insert Juventus defender Mark Iuliano into the starting lineup. Even with their weakened backline and the premature departure of sides like France, Argentina and Portugal, Francesco Totti expects Italy to reach the last eight. "I am completely optimistic that we will reach the quarterfinals," the AS Roma playmaker said. "They defend very well in an enterprising Dutch style, which is a reflection on their coach. But I am confident we will win." Italy and South Korea's only previous meeting came in the group phase of the 1986 World Cup in Mexico. The Azzurri posted a 3-2 victory. |
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