Again, the winner of this match qualified for the final four, and the loser would be eliminated. Jamaica were coming off an unimpressive victory over Italy, while South Korea were still coming to grips with their disappointing loss to Switzerland. It was a game that could go either way, although Jamaica had to be favourites to a certain extent due to their all-round quality and big match experience. The experienced showed early, as Jamaica took a 7th minute lead, Bobbins Henry deftly chipping the South Korean defence and Kurt Christensen heading in the goal to give Jamaica crucial early initiative. South Korea tried desperately to equalize, but the Jamaican defence proved equal to the task. The game was poised on a knife-edge, Jamaica happy to defend and counter-attack while the Korean’s made little headway. The result was all but sealed in the 75th minute with a typically unstoppable Nibblet Jones header from Henry’s corner. Just 6 minutes later South Korea’s flight home was book, this time Christensen swung in the cross and, as tends to be the case when the ball is played aerially in his general direction, Jones was there once more to power the ball into the net. The 3-0 score line represented a disappointing conclusion to the tournament for South Korea, who had entered the play-offs with high hopes, and left after consecutive defeats. Still, they had enjoyed a fine tournament. Jamaica, like Switzerland, had once again proved that class will usually prevail in pressure situations, and the form of Nibblet Jones meant they would be more than a match for France, their semi-final opponent. The other semi-final promised a thriller: Greece Vs Switzerland.
Jamaica 3 South Korea 0 |
