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Group E: South Korea vs. Mexico

By HELENE ELLIOTT
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SITE: Lyon.

TIME: 8:30 a.m. TV: ESPN2, Ch. 34. RADIO: KWKW (1330 Spanish).

* ABOUT SOUTH KOREA: This will be its fourth consecutive appearance in the finals, but it has yet to win a game in five tries. Striker Hwang Sun Hong injured a knee in a warmup game and is doubtful. Coach Cha Bum Kun’s team has some speed and scoring potential.

* ABOUT MEXICO: Inconsistency in its qualifying games cost Milutinovic his job. Manuel Lapuente has taken over and shown a willingness to play young players over veterans such as goalkeeper Jorge Campos and striker Luis Garcia.

* OUTLOOK: A vital game for both teams. Korean striker Seo Jung Won said his team will get to the second round, but that will be difficult in such a tough group. Expect Mexico to be aggressive in its attack and striker Luis Hernandez to be set up as much as possible, but the risks to Mexico’s defense will be considerable.

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Helene Elliott

Helene Elliott was with the Los Angeles Times’ Sports department from 1989 to 2024, first as a staff writer and then, starting in 2006, as a columnist. She became the first female journalist to be honored with a plaque in the Hall of Fame of a major professional sport as the 2005 winner of the Hockey Hall of Fame’s Elmer Ferguson Award, awarded to writers “who have brought honor to journalism and to hockey.” A native of Brooklyn, N.Y., and graduate of Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, she has covered 18 Olympics.

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