Italy-based Ahn’s 117th-minute strike settled a pulsating second round encounter which exploded into life when Korea snatched an 88th-minute equaliser after Christian Vieri had given Italy the lead.

In an upset to match North Korea’s famous 1966 World Cup win over Italy, Ahn glanced home towards the end of an incident-packed extra-time period which saw Italy’s golden boy Francesco Totti controversially sent off for diving.

The win sent South Korea into a quarterfinal against Spain in Gwangju on Saturday.

Italy had been only two minutes away from a place in the last eight after Vieri’s fourth goal of the tournament on 18 minutes had given them a 1-0 lead.

The Inter Milan player’s header came after Ahn saw a fourth-minute penalty saved.

But Giovanni Trapattoni’s superstars were left stunned when Belgium-based striker Seol Ki-hyeon snatched an equaliser two minutes from time to send the match into extra-time.

Seol’s bobbling finish - the Anderlecht attacker pouncing after Christian Panucci failed to clear - gave the Koreans a new lease of life.

Italy almost snatched a 90th-minute winner but Vieri somehow sidefooted over the bar from close range to the disbelief of his team-mates with the goal at his mercy.

The Koreans could even have claimed the win themselves in injury time when South Korean substitute Cha Du-ri connected with a spectacular overhead kick that Gianluigi Buffon gathered.

The drama spilled over into extra-time with Totti’s controversial sending off, the AS Roma talisman harshly adjudged to have dived in the box under the challenge of Song Chong-gug.

knocked out Italy and reached the quarter-finals of the competition.

Street parties erupted across the nation after a golden goal by Ahn Jung-Hwan with three minutes of extra-time to go pulled off the sensational 2-1 fightback victory.

"You Remember England in 1966" screamed a headline flashed across an electronic billboard in central Seoul at the start of a night of wild celebrations.

South Koreans had been praying for days that the national team would produce a repeat of rival North Korea's 1-0 win over Italy at the 1966 finals.

And when it happened truckloads of fans toured the streets waving national flags and honking the rhythm of the fans chant "Daehan Minguk" - Republic of Korea.

South Korean fans had been determined to remind the Italian players of their last fateful match against a Korean side. As the Italian players came on the field in Daejeon thousands of white cards were lifted in the air to spell out in giant letters "Again - 1966."

But South Korean fans seemed despondent when Italy led until two minutes from the end.

One second the tears were running through the flag painted on the cheek of student Lee Mi-Sun, the next South Korea had equalised and then went on to record a stunning win.

Lee had been among thousands starting to make their way home from central Seoul when Seol Ki-Hyeon equalised two minutes from the end.

Lee had been among thousands starting to make their way home from central Seoul when Seol Ki-Hyeon equalised two minutes from the end.

“They did their best. Even if they lose, I admire them and their fighting spirit,” she said before staring up at the electronic screen at Seoul City Hall in disbelief and screaming for joy.

The wall of noise erupted again around the country and became an explosion when Ahn scored the golden goal winner.

Two thousand fireworks were let off from the roofs of skyscrapers in Seoul and Daejeon, where the match was played, as hundreds of thousands of people cried tears of joy, hugged each other and danced.

Millions of fans who crowded city centres across the country joined celebrations that brought even more people onto the streets than giant pro-democracy demonstrations in 1987.

The police said there were 500,000 people in the Gwanghwamun district of central Seoul and another 500,000 at nearby City Hall to watch the dramatic win.

They reported 500,000 people in Suwon and another 500,000 in Daejeon where an estimated 300,000 had come from outside the city just to be near the stadium even though there was no chance of getting a ticket.

National flags were pushed out of car windows within minutes of the victory. Even women with babies joined the dancing around the Gwanghwamun, where three electronic advertising screens had become a magnet for South Korean fans on match days.

The police said they were swamped with calls from tearful parents who had lost their children in the celebrations.

In the southwestern city of Gonju, tens of thousands of people crowded into the centre shouting for the national team’s Dutch coach Guus Hiddink to be forced to become a South Korean citizen.

“We need you, we need you,” they screamed. The government is considering making Hiddink South Korea’s first honorary citizen.

President Kim Dae-Jung telephoned Hiddink and the team after the match to say “the country and I are very proud of you,” a presidential spokesman said.

The South Korean team has been followed by rock star adulation since the tournament started on May 31.

Their white bus has become a moving symbol of the patriotic World Cup fervour, turned black with messages of good luck scribbled on all sides.

Teenage girls have camped outside the team’s hotel in Daejeon, screaming whenever they catch a glimpse of the players and even refusing demands by parents and police to go home at night.

AC Milan's Umit Davala, rising unmarked on the edge of the six-yard box, headed home a corner from Ergun Penbe in the 12th minute to seal a quarterfinal place against Senegal.

Japan, making history by qualifying for the second round, were roared on by a vociferous crowd in blue shirts in driving rain. The match ended with some of the Japanese players and fans crying.

"This great Japanese adventure is now over," said Japan's French coach, Philippe Troussier, who will now leave his position.

"Today I am very proud to have led this team, and to have worn the Japanese colours, for four years," he said, choking back tears.

"I say 'bravo' to this team. It played with dignity. We showed that we can live with the best footballing sides."

Turkey were playing only their second ever World Cup — their last showing was back in 1954.

Coach Senol Gunes said his team wanted to measure itself against the best in the world.

"We wanted to see ourselves on the world stage. This is the first time in many years that we have been at a World Cup."

Alessandro Santos came closest to levelling the score, but saw a curling free kick from the edge of the box come crashing back off the crossbar in the 41st minute. The Brazilian-born midfielder, however, was taken off at halftime, alongside Junichi Inamoto.

In the early stages, neither side got a grip on the game. With the pitch slippery, players were pumping long balls forward in hope of a knock on.

The breakthrough came when Japan conceded an unnecessary corner after a poor backpass. That set the tone for much of the half as the co-hosts frequently made passing errors.

The Turks, launching several counter-attacks, almost made it 2-0 in the 24th minute when a lofted pass found Hakan Sukur breaking into the box on the left. But his ambitious lob was kept out by Japanese 'keeper Seigo Narazaki.

Moments later, Sukur knocked the ball into the path of Hasan Sas, on the edge of the area, whose powerful shot flew over the bar.

There were few early glimpses of the fluent, attacking soccer that led Japan to surprisingly top group H.

But as the half drew to an end, Japan got back in the match, prompted by the energetic Santos and Hidetoshi Nakata.

In the second half, Takayuki Suzuki and Daisuke Ichikawa were brought on by Troussier. The changes came as a surprise, but Japan started on top as the Turks sat back and soaked up relentless pressure.

Nakata lifted the home fans' spirits with a 52nd minute drive from 20 yards which took a deflection and went straight at Turkish 'keeper Rustu Recber.

Shinji Ono was behind much of his team's attacks from midfield. In the 61st minute, Akinori Nishizawa tested Recber with a strong header from a right-wing cross.

The pace of the game picked up considerably, and both sides were attacking. But the strong Turkish back four managed to repel everything Japan could throw at them.

Goalscorer Davala was brought off with 15 minutes left, replaced by fellow striker Nihat Kahveci.

The Japanese struggled to find the final ball and had to settle for long-range strikes which rarely troubled the Turks. AP

The city had virtually turned into a ghost city during the match, with residents glued to television screens in their homes or offices to watch Umit Davala’s winning header in the 12th minute.

Normally heavy traffic through the square was cut as the revellers carried their celebrations onto the road, aided by pounding music from a sound system installed on a riot police vehicle.

Among the fans was the city’s Islamist mayor Melih Gokcek who distributed free footballs to the crowd from the top of a bus.

Elsewhere in the city, drivers blew their horns amid flowing traffic.

In Istanbul, the country’s biggest city, fans filled the downtown Taksim square as soon as the match in Miyagi, Japan, ended, dancing and shouting slogans to the sound of pounding music despite a drizzle of rain. Several flags could be seen hanging from buildings surrounding the square.

"It’s very beautiful. It’s super. It’s undescribable," said Savas, a 30-year-old man.

"The Japanese were passive with a more technical play but our players played with their hearts. I am now going to celebrate until the morning," he added.

Fans said they had complete confidence in the players. "I always believed we would reach the quarter finals. God willing, we will reach the final," said Yaca, a 30-year-old woman. The first official message of congratulation came from Deputy Prime Minister Devlet Bahceli, a normally grim politician, who extended the team "thousands of thanks for bringing joy to the nation".

"The success of the national team, a source of pride for Turkey, is the product of systematic training and self-confidence," he said in a written message.

Football-mad Turkey, a rising soccer nation in recent years, qualified this year for the World Cup for only its second time ever, after a 48-year absence. AFP

“The physical presence of the Germans is a very big part of their game and something we need to be aware of,” Arena told a news conference in Seoul.

“We know their physical qualities are tremendous and we need to try and neutralise them,” he said a day after the Americans buried Mexico with a 2-0 win in Chonju.

The Americans have won two of the last three meetings with the Germans, but the most recent showdown was a 4-2 whipping at in a friendly in Rostock, Germany in March.

“Their flank play is impressive, they serve good crosses from the box,” Arena said. “They’re all about big, strong strikers getting service in the box.”

Germany’s World Cup record has also shown “they have a way of scoring goals’’, he said, pointing to Miroslav Klose, who is tied with Brazil’s Ronaldo as the tournament’s top scorer with five goals.

“Five goals in the tournament and five with his head — that tells you something there,” Arena said.

The US players seconded that view of the Germans.

“We definitely have some concerns because the German team is more along the lines of Poland,” said midfielder Cobi Jones. The lanky Poles stunned the Americans in first round group D with two goals in the opening minutes and a 3-1 win.

“It’s going to be a physical battle,” said defender Jeff Agoos, likely to be sidelined against Germany with the calf injury sustained against Poland on June 10.

“Fortunately, in this game size is not the biggest factor.”

Arena said the US side’s best World Cup showing since 1930 was a surprise to many pundits, but that he went into Monday’s game knowing they could beat Mexico.

“Who would think that the US team would be in the last eight?” he asked.

With three days to prepare for the battle against Germany in Ulsan, South Korea, Arena said being underdogs had its advantages.

“How do we deal with expectations? There aren’t any expectations on us,” he said.

“This is the easy part for us now because the Germans are heavily favoured and we can just go along for the ride.” Reuters

“We all saw those pictures in black and white and they mean a lot to us,” German captain Kahn said today of Walter leading the West German team to their first World Cup success in 1954.

Walter, who put his country on the map of world soccer and became a symbol for their emergence from World War II, died yesterday aged 81, just as a long-awaited revival was shaping up for Germany.

“There is a parallel between the team of 1954 and the current one,” Germany goalkeeper Kahn said as his team were preparing for their World Cup quarterfinal against the USA on Friday.

“Nobody then had expected Germany to become world champions. Perhaps we will become world champions as well.”

Walter’s side were indeed clear underdogs when they faced an awe-inspiring Hungary featuring the great Ferenc Puskas in the 1954 final after being thrashed 8-3 by the same opponents in the first round.

But with their captain orchestrating play, they overcame a two-goal deficit for a memorable 3-2 victory that still stands as the greatest achievement in Germany’s glorious footballing history.

“A great idol of German football has left us,” German Football Association (DFB) president Gerhard Mayer-Vorfelder said on Tuesday, fighting back tears at Germany’s daily news conference at their camp on the South Korean holiday island of Cheju.

“He was a symbol not only for football but for the German nation as a whole,” he added before all those attending rose from their seats and remained silent for a while as a mark of respect. The “Heroes of Berne” were never forgotten and gave birth to Germany’s reputation for fighting whatever the circumstances, which helped them to two more world titles, in 1974 and 1990.

That spirit, illustrated by the famous Gary Lineker phrase about the Germans always winning at the end, went missing in recent times, with quarterfinal defeats at the last two World Cups and a shock early exit from Euro 2000.

But it appears to have been recaptured as a troublefree Germany side brought together by their struggle to qualify advanced to the last eight in a style reminiscent of their great campaigns from the past. Reuters

But England's players believe their work ethic and teamwork can stifle the talents of Rivaldo and Ronaldo when the sides meet in their eagerly-awaited World Cup quarterfinal on Friday.

The high-point of Brazil's 2-0 second round win came after 67 minutes when Rivaldo collected a cross from Ronaldinho on his chest with his back to the goal.

He turned and controlled the ball on his left foot and in one flowing movement unleashed a powerful shot from 20 metres. The ball took enough of a deflection off Timmy Simons to wrong-foot goalkeeper Gert de Vlieger.

''I just jumped up and applauded it, I love seeing pieces of skill like that,'' said midfielder Dyer today. Reuters

It can’t happen again, can it?

Brazil meet England in the World Cup quarterfinal on Friday and already thoughts are going back 32 years to one of the greatest moments in the competition’s history.

That time it was Jairzinho who crossed, Pele who headed down and Gordon Banks who flew across goal to make the astonishing save.

Jairzinho, set up by Pele, went on to score the only goal of the first round group game in Guadalajara, Mexico. Although both teams qualified for the quarterfinals, England lost to Germany while Brazil went on to win its third title by outplaying Italy 4-1 in a one-sided final.

That was probably the greatest Brazilian team ever and, while the current lineup isn’t so strong, it has individual stars capable of taking the team all the way to a fifth title.

Like that game in 1970, Friday’s meeting in Shizuoka will be a matchup of a standout Brazilian strikeforce and a rock solid English defence.

Brazil have scored 13 goals so far and England have gone three games without conceding one.

Then it was Pele, Tostao and Jairzinho, backed up by Rivelino. Now it’s Ronaldo, Rivaldo and Ronaldinho. Back then, England had Bobby Moore in defence and now it has Rio Ferdinand, who is emerging as one of the best central defenders in world soccer.

Pele, who played in four World Cups and won three titles, said that Friday’s match up would be worthy of the final.

“Before the World Cup neither Brazil nor England were favourites to win the tournament, but it now looks like a real possibility that one of them will be in the final,” he said.

“It is dangerous to plan too far ahead. Nobody expected to see France and Argentina both knocked out in the final round. But I believe Brazil and England will be renewing one of the World Cup’s great rivalries in the quarterfinals.

“Brazil have won the World Cup four times, England once. Brazil are the greatest nation in World Cup history, England the home of football. This game would be worthy of the final itself.”

Mario Zagallo, who had World Cup success with Brazil both as a player and a coach, said that playing against England would be a good omen for Brazil.

“I was fortunate to face them three times,” Zagallo told the Brazilian daily O Globo.

“As a player, we drew (0-0) in 1958 and beat them (3-1) in 1962. As a coach, a 1-0 win in 1970. In each of the three Cups, we were champions.

“England are our lucky opponents. Brazil will win a fifth world title.”

Brazilian star Roberto Carlos was in the team trounced 0-3 by France in the final four years ago and has plenty to prove after that poor performance.

“The World Cup is about winning the final,” he said. “So far the tournament has only just started.”

England have a poor record against Brazil, winning just three times in 20 meetings and losing nine. In three World Cup meetings, Brazil have won twice (1-0 and 3-1) and tied once (0-0).

This time England have two players capable of playing Brazil at their own game.

Team captain David Beckham has the ability to score with the same bending free kicks that used to be the style of Rivelino, Garrincha and Zico while Michael Owen has the Pele and Ronaldo-style ability to run at defenders, dribble round them and score.

Brazil also has a suspect defence, conceding two against modest Costa Rica in a 5-2 victory.

But then its defence wasn’t that great in 1970 and what happened then was for everybody to see. AP

The 34-year-old Real Madrid central defender has 88 caps, second only to former goalkeeper Andoni Zubizarreta, and he is Spain’s all-time best goalscorer with 29.

"I’ll cherish the memories of those 88 caps. I hope I can reach 91," said Hierro, who wants to sign off from international duty by taking Spain through to the June 30 World Cup final in Yokohama.

"Either way I will leave the scene a happy man. I’ve given my all for the colours of my country, and each selection has been an honour. It’s nothing to do with my age, I just feel it’s time to move on," Hierro added.

"I made up my mind last December, but it’s still a difficult decision to make," Hierro said, his voice faltering throughout a press conference at Spain’s training base. AFP

The African side, conquerors of holders France in their opening game, started slowly in their second-round clash with Sweden on Sunday, conceding an early goal before hitting back to win 2-1 in extra time thanks to two goals by Henri Camara.

The game in the western Japanese city of Oita was played in sweltering temperatures but Metsu says his team made a slow start because they were not warmed up properly.

“We warm up for 45 minutes before the kick-off, then go back into the dressing room for 20 minutes,’’ he told Senegalese reporters.

“We have to because that’s the organisers’ protocol. Basically, it’s as if we haven’t warmed up.’’

Metsu is now considering continuing the warm-up in the dressing-roon as a possible solution.

As Africa’s last remaining representatives, Senegal have taken the World Cup by storm under their inspirational French coach, who also led them to the final of the African Nations Cup earlier this year.

They face Turkey in the last eight on Saturday. Cameroon are the only African team to have previously reached the World Cup quarterfinals, losing 2-3 to England in 1990, but Metsu says Senegal’s best is yet to come.

“Sweden was not the best we can play,’’ he said. “We struggled with the intensity and the pressure. It was a spectacular match, but not our best. There are always things to work on.’’

Senegal were due to arrive in Osaka and hold a training session as they begin their preparations for Saturday’s encounter. Reuters

Sourav Ganguly, who is leading the 15-member Indian team, was quite optimistic of India’s chances on the tour. "It will be a good series. England is a good side but we hope to do well," Ganguly told reporters at the airport.

Asked why the team had been unable to win a Test series outside the sub-continent for the last 16 years, Ganguly said, "We have come very close to winning on many ocassions. We will try our best to win it here.

"Ours is a young side but we did very well in the West Indies. We defeated West Indies in the one-day series and also won a Test," he said.

India will play four Test matches with England next month after participating in a tri-nation one-day series also involving Sri Lanka. The triangular tournament starts on June 27 with a match between England and Sri Lanka. India play their first match against England on June 29 at Lord’s.

"We are looking forward to the triangular series. England are looking good after defeating Sri Lanka in their Test series. England have batted very well in this series," Ganguly said about the hosts’ 2-0 win against Sri Lanka in the just-concluded three-Test series.

"We are three good sides in the tournament and I am looking forward to a keen contest," he said.

Asked about the absence of speedster Javagal Srinath, Ganguly said, "He did not want to play Test cricket any more. We are obviously going to miss him but it is his personal decision."

India’s pace spearhead for close to a decade, Srinath announced his retirement from Test cricket after the tour of West Indies and said he wanted to concentrate his energies in preparation for the next year’s World Cup. However, even though he made himself available for the one-dayers, he was not picked for the triangular tournament here.

Ganguly, who is accompanied by his wife Dona and infant daughter, said all his players were fit and there were no worries on that count.

An avid soccer fan, Ganguly was asked what he thought of the mouth-watering World Cup quarter-final clash between England and Brazil on Friday. "I am also eagerly looking forward to it," said Ganguly who is known to be a supporter of Brazil.

Indian cricket captain Saurav Ganguly before leaving for Mumbai said he would open with Virender Sehwag at least in the opening ODI against Sri Lanka. “Sachin will bat at number four. Sehwag will open with me. At least I don’t intend to change the batting line up for the first match,’’ Saurav said.

This means that Sachin Tendulkar will bat at number four and will again form the mainstay of the Indian middle order. In West Indies Sachin Tendulkar was seen batting with greater responsibility coming down the order and posted a couple of big innings.

India gets time to play three practice matches against Sussex, Kent and Liecestershire on June 22, 24 and 26 before the match with Sri Lanka.

Brushing aside the media speculations regarding Srinath’s absence from the side, Saurav said, “Our side is a balanced one. We performed well in West Indies with the newcomers. We are no less in strength than Sri Lanka and England.’’