South Korea qualified easily for a seventh consecutive World Cup, but they lack the firepower to hurt the big beasts.

The good times: South Korea reached the World Cup semi-finals on home soil in 2002
 
South Korea World Cup record: 1954 1st rd, 1986 1st rd, 1990 1st rd, 1994 1st rd, 1998 1st rd, 2002 4th, 2006 1st rd.

How South Korea qualified for World Cup 2010: Asia Group 2 winners.

The Coach: Huh Jung-Moo (South Korean, 54). Appointed: December 2007. WC experience: Player: 1986. Coach: None.

Huh has previously coached the Korea Republic national football team twice before.

The Country: Huh was re-appointed coach of the Korea Republic in December 2007, after the leading candidates, Wolves’ Mick McCarthy and former Liverpool manager Gérard Houllier both rejected the job.

And he led the country to a seventh successive World Cup finals place thanks to a 2-0 victory over United Arab Emirates in Dubai. Park Chu-young and Ki Sung-yueng grabbed the goals as Huh’s outfit strolled to a place in South Africa.

He said: "I'm really happy that we made it. We are all satisfied with a performance that saw us ensure a place in South Africa. The players were excellent throughout the qualifiers, they did a great job."

Key to their success is captain Park Ji-Sung, the Manchester United midfielder. He is the only Korean player to win the Champions League and the first Asian to play in a final of the tournament.

Park came to prominence in the 2006 World Cup finals. He scored the equalising goal in the second Group G Match against eventual finalists France and was voted Man of the match. Between these two World Cup Finals, his shirt number shifted from 21 to 7, and he played in every match for South Korea.

And in October 2008 he captained South Korea for the first time in a friendly match against Uzbekistan. Korea went on to win 3-0. Since then he has been the captain for the remainder of the AFC qualification campaign for 2010 and was the top scorer of his team with five goals.

Telegraph verdict: The South Koreans secured a seventh successive World Cup finals place thanks to a 2-0 victory over United Arab Emirates in a tight group. Ji-Sung Park remains the star but they will struggle to make an impression against stronger nations.