On an unforgettable night of World Cup football, South Korea claimed an amazing 1-0 victory over nine-man Portugal at Incheon Munhak Stadium Friday to advance to the last 16 of the World Cup finals for the first time in their history. The result means Portugal joins the growing list of "Big Guns" to make an early exit from this year's World Cup finals with the United States qualifying in second despite going down 3-1 to Poland. Korean coach Guus Hiddink sprang a couple of surprises in his starting lineup, playing Ahn Jung-hwan as the central striker replacing Hwang Sun-hong, who suffered a head injury against the U.S. But it was in defense where his tactical acumen was evident, deploying Kim Tae-young to mark Joao Pinto and Choi Jin-cheul to shadow Pauleta with Hong Myung-bo as the spare man. In the midfield, Song Chung-gug and Lee Young-pyo were tasked with smothering Portugal's deadly wingmen, Luis Figo and Sergio Conceicao, while Kim Nam-il and Yoo Sang-chul sat in the middle, mopping up the danger and feeding Ahn, Seol Ki-hyeon and Park Ji-sung up front. On 25th minutes in the latter half, the 50,000 crowd turned the decibels up to maximum level with Park Ji-sung's superb goal. Taking a deep cross from Lee Young-pyo on his chest, the Kyoto Purple Sanga star lifted the ball over Conceicao with his right before powering home on the volley with his left.