South Korea see off nine-man Costa Rica

Los Angeles: Kim Shin-Wook scored the only goal as South Korea battled past nine-man Costa Rica 1-0 Saturday in a friendly in Los Angeles ahead of the World Cup.

Midfielder Kim`s ninth-minute strike proved to be enough in a tempestuous match that saw Costa Rica have Christopher Meneses sent off for a straight red in the 68th minute and Mauricio Castillo given his marching orders after receiving a second yellow in the 84th. The narrow victory gave South Korea a good start to their three-match North American tour, which will include a clash with Mexico on Wednesday in San Antonio, Texas, and a friendly against the United States in Los Angeles on February 1. South Korea play in Group H versus Belgium, Algeria and Russia in the World Cup finals in Brazil later this year. Costa Rica are in Group D along with Uruguay, England and Italy.