The Yomiuri Shimbun reported Tuesday quoting Brazilian soccer legend Pele that co-hosts South Korea are very likely to reach the second round in the upcoming 2002 World Cup finals. Pele said in an interview with the Japanese daily he thinks the co-hosts will be able to survive the group stage and join the last 16 in their sixth World Cup finals appearance, which is a is also their fifth consecutive appearance. Pele said the South Korean will be backed by enormous support from home fans and "chances have never been greater for them." Pele said the Group D favorite Portugal is a wonderful team but it is quite possible that Luis Figo may not live up to the high expectations of fans as he may not be able to reach the level he was at before he suffered an injury. The soccer legend picked France, Italy, Spain, Brazil and Argentina as his favorites to win the World Cup this year, with France on top.