Huh Jung-moo remains confident South Korea can still reach the knockout phase of the World Cup.
South Korea coach targets last 16
South Korea coach Huh Jung-moo remains confident his side can still reach the knockout phase of the World Cup despite their 4-1 defeat to Argentina.
The Asian outfit were torn apart at Soccer City in Johannesburg by some superb attacking football from Diego Maradona's side with Gonzalo Higuain helping himself to a hat-trick and Lionel Messi in sparkling form.
Park Chu-Young's unfortunate own goal set the South American side on their way with Higuain bagging his first in the 33rd minute and, despite Lee Chung-Yong reducing the deficit before the break, Argentina ran out comfortable winners.
Real Madrid ace Higuain tapped home a third after Messi hit the inside of the post before heading home substitute Sergio Aguero's delightful cross.
Jung-Moo admitted his side paid the price for failing to cope with the threat of the mercurial Messi, but believes that progress is still attainable if they defeat Nigeria in their final Group B match in Durban on Tuesday.
Important
"The result was unexpected but, regardless of the score, it's possible we can still make the last 16," he said. "Whether it's 4-1 or 3-1 isn't very meaningful.
"We marked Messi but didn't manage to get close enough to him.
"We played well, but there were some things we lacked in our game and we missed opportunities.
"I think we fought well against a side who boast several star players and we have learned a lot from the game.
"Our next match against Nigeria is now extremely important and it will decide whether or not we reach the round of 16."
