S. Korea blanks Lebanon in World Cup qualification

GOYANG, South Korea, Sept. 2 (Yonhap) -- Powered by a pair of English Premier League players, South Korea blanked Lebanon 6-0 in a third-round opener of the World Cup Asian qualification series Friday.
At Goyang Stadium west of Seoul, Park Chu-young of Arsenal scored a hat trick and Sunderland forward Ji Dong-won added a pair in the match. Kim Jung-woo had another goal.
Park, who joined Arsenal earlier this week, opened the scoring just eight minutes after the whistle and made it 2-0 just before the halftime. Midway through the second half, Ji and Park added one more goal each two minutes apart.
Park had been in limbo for most of the off-season after his previous club, AS Monaco in France, was relegated to the second division. He was once close to joining another French club, Lille OSC, before Arsenal stepped in to sign him. Though it came against an inferior opponent -- Lebanon ranks 133th in the world and South Korea 33rd -- the hat trick should erase doubts about his fitness level.


The victory also comes on the heels of South Korea's 3-0 loss to archrival Japan in a friendly last month. The team was heavily criticized by domestic fans for its defensive miscues and lack of offensive creativity.
Along with Lebanon, South Korea is also paired in Group B with Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates in the Asian World Cup preliminaries. The South Koreans will face Kuwait next Tuesday.
South Korea is seeking its eighth straight World Cup appearance and ninth overall.
In Friday's match against Lebanon, South Korea was missing two key midfielders. Lee Chung-yong of Bolton Wanderers in Premier League is out after suffering a double fracture in his right leg. Son Heung-min of Hamburger SV in Germany's Bundesliga was left off the national team after injuring his ankle in a recent game.
There are five groups of four teams in the third round. Two top teams from each of the groups will reach the fourth and the final round.