WORLD CUP SOCCER ’94 / THE FIRST ROUND : Germans Hang On to Beat South Korea : Group C: Defending champions build 3-0 lead, survive heat and second-half rally in 3-2 victory.

Germany had so much to prove Monday that maybe, just maybe, it was too much for the defending World Cup champion.

After two mediocre games that had everyone from Bonn to Berlin in a tizzy, Germany’s players, coaches and federation officials were hoping for a breakthrough in their final first-round match against South Korea.

And for 45 minutes the magic returned on a torrid Texas afternoon. Then, almost as quickly, it disappeared before 63,988 at the sold out Cotton Bowl.

Just like that.

Germany won, 3-2, in one of the World Cup tournament’s most entertaining games, but South Korea received most of the accolades after a grueling duel in the sun.

Remarkably, Korea rallied from a 3-0 deficit and turned the powerful Germans into a team sitting on the precipice.

“We must admit, we are pretty lucky to have won this game,” said Berti Vogts, Germany’s coach.

That they were. After taking a commanding lead in the first 37 minutes, the Germans collapsed on a day when temperatures reached almost 120 degrees on the field.

Fifty spectators were treated for heat exhaustion, 12 of whom were hospitalized and released.

Although Germany won the Group C title with the victory, it was feeling the heat afterward. The Koreans, who were eliminated after two ties and a loss, were frustrated but had reason to be proud. They had rallied to tie Spain in the final six minutes, then had tied Bolivia before gaining the soccer world’s attention Monday with their indomitable spirit.

“We didn’t anticipate they could play all 45 minutes of the second half,” said Andreas Brehme, one of the only German defenders who had a satisfactory game.

Said Hwang Sun-nong, who scored his team’s first goal in the 52nd minute after catching goalkeeper Bodo Illgner out of position, “We became physically superior in the second half.”

Germany already was getting harsh criticism from the German press before the match. And few in the German media were about to let up after the team barely held on in the final 30 minutes, when Korea had three solid scoring opportunities blocked by Illgner.

“At first, I think the players were very intimidated,” said Kim Ho, Korea’s coach.

But then their confidence grew as German players slowed to a jog in the second half. In a surprising move, Kim replaced captain and goalkeeper Choi In-young with Lee Woon-jae, to start the second half, but the risky move worked.

“My first concern was to win,” Kim said. “If that means taking out the team captain, then I will take out the team captain.”

Once they realized they could attack the German defense, targeting Stefan Effenberg, who was playing for the injured Thomas Strunz, Korea became the aggressor. It looked like a team of seasoned veterans compared to the all-stars from Germany.

“We got them going with our mistakes,” Vogts said.

Although it was a memorable effort, Korea will leave without its first World Cup victory in four appearances.

“We had a good chance, and we feel bad,” Hwang said.

Almost as bad as the Germans feel.

It was a frustrating, fatiguing day despite the play of Juergen Klinsmann, who scored two goals, one of them the Cup’s best so far.

In the 12th minute, he took a pass from Thomas Haessler on the right side and, with his back to the net, controlled the ball with his right foot. In a brilliant move, he then hooked a waist-high left-footed shot inside the goal post.

On Klinsmann’s second goal of the day, and fourth of the tournament, he controlled a looping cross from the right and made a powerful shot. The ball slipped through Choi’s hands and into the net.

Captain Lothar Matthaeus suffered a cut foot when he bumped into a Korean in the first half and he played in pain until being replaced by Andreas Moeller in the second half. Matthaeus’ wound had to be stitched and his condition has not been determined.

“I thought about coming off the field (at halftime), but I didn’t want to,” Matthaeus said. “(Then) the pain got worse.”