Korea beats New Zealand 2-1 in Olympic warm-up

Korea beats New Zealand 2-1 in Olympic warm-up

Korea's Olympic football team beat its New Zealand side 2-1 in its final warm-up match on Saturday ahead of the London Olympics. Arsenal forward Park Chu-young scored Korea's first goal in the 18th minute at Seoul World Cup Stadium, but New Zealand's Shane Smeltz made it 1-1 in the 63rd minute. Ten minutes after the equalizer, Korean winger Nam Tae-hee came up with the winning goal after beating past two defenders. The Korean team, which sets its sights on the first Olympic medal, will leave for London on Sunday. Korea is paired with Mexico, Switzerland and Gabon in Group B. This will be the country's seventh straight Olympic appearance and ninth overall. But Korea has never won an Olympic medal in men's football, having advanced beyond the first round only twice. Korea was a surprise semifinalist at the 2002 World Cup, defeating football giants Portugal, Italy and Spain en route to a fourth-place finish. (Yonhap)