South Korea held 1-1 by Senegal

South Korea's Kim Do-Heon (C) celebrates after scoring against Senegal. South Korea were held to a 1-1 draw by Senegal, the gifted African side who failed to qualify for the finals starting next month in Germany.

World Cup finalists South Korea were held to a 1-1 draw by Senegal, the gifted African side who failed to qualify for the finals starting next month in Germany.

South Korea coach Dick Advocaat had scheduled the friendly game against the Senegalese to give his squad a taste of what they are likely to encounter on June 13 in Frankfurt when they open their World Cup account against another African side, Togo.

The South Koreans are in World Cup Group G which also includes 1998 champions France and Switzerland.

Advocaat and his coaching staff believe that a victory against Togo is vital for qualifying for the second round of the tournament and on Tuesday's form here, that result looked far from assured.

After 1-1 draw, Advocaat said he was pleased with the quality of the game.

"I think it was an excellent exercise for us especially on the physical side," Advocaat said. "With this kind of game you get the sharpness to play against Togo."

Senegal opened stronger than the tentative Koreans in an evenly-matched first half, but neither side carved out convincing chances. After the break when Korea raised their game, the Africans had enough left to respond.

After piling on the pressure, the home side went ahead with a sweet shot from defender Kim Do-Heon after 74 minutes and the match looked all but sewn up.

But Senegal came back with an equally impressive strike in the 80th minute from midfielder Moussa Ndiaye, silencing a vocal home crowd of over 60,000.

Ahn Jung-Hwan, the star striker from the 2002 World Cup side when South Korea reached the last four, had the ball in the net in the 50th minute after Lee Chun-Soo freed him in front of goal but he was ruled offside.

Lee, also a 2002 veteran, had his own chance minutes later but fired wide.

Another South Korean attack ended when defender Kim Dong-Jin forced Senegal goalkeeper Pape Mamadou Diouf to touch a stinging shot just over the bar.

Senegal, who beat Norway in their last match on March 1, showed flashes of the creative talent they displayed in the World Cup four years ago when they reached the quarter-finals after beating France in the first round.

Senegal coach Abdoulaye Sarr said the game was of high technical standard and a good opportunity for Korea to practice before the World Cup.

But he questioned whether South Koreans had the right mental attitude, saying their players drifted in and out of the game.

"Sometimes they are a very strong team and sometimes a very weak team. There is some kind of inconsistency in the team," he said.