South Korea and Greece have put together stunning runs in major tournaments. The underdogs now stand in each other's way in South Africa.
South Korea and Greece will try to overcome some sluggish play when they meet for the first time Saturday in Port Elizabeth.
South Korea reached the semifinals as co-host of the 2002 World Cup, coming in fourth for the nation's best finish. The team appeared to be making another surge four years later but lost its final group game to Switzerland and was eliminated on a tiebreaker.
Greece won the 2004 European Championships by surprising host Portugal in the final after upsetting tournament favorites France and the Czech Republic. It hasn't come close to matching that success, failing to qualify for the last World Cup and losing all three games of Euro 2008.
South Korea and Greece are stumbling into this World Cup and are in a highly competitive Group B with two-time winner Argentina and perennial African power Nigeria.
South Korea didn't score in losing its last two friendlies to Spain and Belarus, which has never qualified for a World Cup.
"We weren't organized well because we had to protect ourselves from injury," coach Huh Jung-Moo said following the 1-0 loss to Belarus two weeks ago. "It may sound like an excuse but it was a good lesson for us to prepare for the typical moves of European opponents."
Captain Park Ji-Sung is expected to be the major force for South Korea. The midfielder, who plays for Manchester United, has 12 goals in 88 games for his homeland and led the team with five goals as it finished unbeaten in 14 World Cup qualifiers.
Greece is making its second World Cup appearance and first since being outscored 10-0 while losing all three games in 1994, including defeats to Argentina and Nigeria.
Entering this tournament, the Greeks have lost friendlies to Senegal and Paraguay by 2-0 scores while squandering two leads in a 2-all tie with North Korea on May 25. Those performances showed severe dents in Greece's disciplined defensive play - a staple of its European title and a big reason it beat Ukraine 1-0 on aggregate in the World Cup qualifying playoffs.
The defensive woes may continue with 6-foot-5 central defender Vangelis Moras out Saturday. Tests showed he's fully recovered from a lingering groin injury, but he hasn't been training.
"I don't want to risk it," Moras said. "I want to be fit for Nigeria (on Thursday)."
While Greece is known for strong defensive play, midfielder Giorgos Karagounis is the creative offensive focal point. The captain, known as a tough competitor, has six goals in 93 games since making his national team debut in 1999.
He's one of six players remaining from the 2004 title-winning team, along with coach Otto Rehhagel, who has been in charge since 2001.
