Costa Rica edge South Korea 1-0

Oakland:

Alvaro Saborio scored on a penalty kick 40 minutes into the first half for Costa Rica to edge South Korea 1-0 in a friendly on Saturday. Goalkeepers Jose Francisco Porras and Wardy Alfaro combined on the shutout for Costa Rica, which was playing for just the second time since the World Cup qualifying tournament last October. Costa Rica will now face host Germany, Poland and Ecuador in the opening round of the World Cup beginning in June.

Breakaway threat Saborio's goal, coming after he was tripped up on a breakaway threat, was the lone offensive highlight of a match dominated by defence. South Korea controlled the ball for the majority of the game, particularly in the second half, but couldn't get a shot past Porras or Alfaro. Porras made a diving deflection off a shot from South Korea midfielder Lee Chun-soo less than a minute after Saborio's goal, while Alfaro knocked away two shots late in the second half. The combined efforts from Porras and Alfaro are a good sign for a Costa Rica team many expect to go deep in the World Cup tournament. Costa Rica already has a win over the United States this month, and will travel to face Iran in Tehran on March 1. Missed shot South Korea, which features five players from the national team that reached the World Cup semifinals in 2002, was coming off a 3-0 win over defending Major League Soccer champion Los Angeles on Wednesday. Cho Jae-jin's header deflected off the right bar after 74 minutes and just missed going in before Alfaro knocked the ball away. Park Chu-young then missed a clear shot from 30 meters, the ball sailing right. It was the first time South Korea hasn't scored since losing 1-0 to Saudi Arabia in a World Cup qualifier last August. (AP)