Algeria vs. South Korea, 2014 World Cup: Fennec Foxes seal first win since 1982

Algeria prevailed over South Korea in a hugely entertaining 4-2 clash in Group H.

Algeria not only gained their first World Cup victory since 1982, but also became the first African team to score four goals in a single match as they put themselves in with a chance of making the knockout stages.

No one has any desire to play defense. Not only does this game have six goals, but a few of them have been tap-ins. Here’s another, from Koo Ja-Cheol.

Don’t stop scoring. Six isn’t enough. We need 12.

Tiiiiiime toooooooo say gooooodbyeeeeeeeeeeee

It’s 4-1, and that’ll about end this game.

Nutmeg!

Algeria dominated the first half against South Korea with a torrent of goals to take a 3-0 lead. None of the shots were particularly impressive, but Islam Slimani’s celebration after the first warrants analysis:

This celebration has divided the SB Nation office. Some think Slimani is clearly doing the Johnny Manziel #topszn money celebration; his hands move in much the same way. Others think this is something else, since Slimani’s hands are at his mouth and he’s clearly pretending to eat the imaginary contents of his hands.

South Korea are in deep trouble.

South Korea (4-3-3): Jung Sung-Ryong; Yun Suk-Young, Kim Young-Gwan, Lee Yong, Koo Ja-Cheol; Han Kook-Young, Hong Jeong-Cho Ki Seung-Yeung; Son Heung-Min, Chung-Yong Lee; Chu-Young Park

It’s possible that both teams could pick the same teams that played in their opening games but they’ll probably want to make some changes due to their average performances. Algeria, in particular, picked a defensive team against Belgium and will probably be willing to open things up a bit more in this match.

With Russia and Belgium facing off against each other earlier, someone’s going to drop points, opening up a window for one of these teams if they can grab a win. A draw isn’t necessarily a disaster for either, but it would keep the door wide open for Russia to get through, even if they lose.

TV: ABC (U.S. - English), Univision (U.S. - Spanish), ITV 1 (U.K.), CBC (Canada), SBS/MBC (South Korea), beIN Sports (Algeria)

However, you probably shouldn’t bet on it. Algeria are a talented team -- perhaps the most underrated in the entire tournament, though coach Vahid Halilhodžić has built them on a solid counter-attacking base with their three midfielders sitting deep and shielding their defence. They’ll probably be quite happy to let South Korea take control, though Hong Myung-bo’s side could struggle to break Les Fennecs down.

South Korea (4-2-3-1): Jung Sung-Ryong; Yun Suk-Young, Kim Young-Gwon, Hong Jeong-Ho, Lee Yong; Ki Sung-Yueng, Han Kook-Young; Son Heung-Min, Koo Ja-Cheol, Lee Chung-Yong; Park Chu-Young.