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DENNIS Bergkamp returned like he had never been away as he sealed his own comeback, after a two-month absence through injury, with a stylish goal amid an overwhelming Holland success against South Korea in Marseille.
The Arsenal forward struck the third Dutch goal of five in the biggest win of France 98 to date. Two goals inside four first-half minutes set up Holland for an assured victory, Phillip Cocu breaking the deadlock after 37 minutes with a neat finish.
Bergkamp's Highbury colleague Marc Overmars contributed the second after fine work from Wim Jonk before the interval to ensure a second half of feel good soccer. After 71 minutes, Bergkamp made his most telling contribution with his individual strike, and his replacement, Nottingham Forest's Pierre Van Hooijdonk, nodded in the fourth soon after.
France's 4-0 win over South Africa was surpassed after 84 minutes when Ronald de Boer made it a numbers game the South Koreans can count on wanting to forget. Having drawn three and lost nine of their previous World Cup matches, it proved a case of unlucky 13 for the South Koreans who still await their first Finals victory.
Bergkamp showed his spell out of the game had done nothing to diminish his trickery with a touch of magic on the right flank after 17 minutes. Beating three men with various feints and drag-backs he squared for Wim Jonk to strike a fierce effort which Kim Bjung Ji did well to beat away to safety.
The South Koreans were more than holding their own against the patient approach of the Dutch who had an Overmars 'goal' rightly cancelled out for off-side after 36 minutes. A minute later however Holland were ahead, Bergkamp touching the ball to Cocu who cut inside before drilling a shot in from the edge of the area that defeated Kim for pace.
After 41 minutes, the lead was doubled, a South Korean free kick breaking to Bergkamp whose burst was taken on by Jonk who charged forward. The midfielder reached the edge of the area before finding Overmars who beat Choi Sung Yong with ease, then rifled the ball low past Kim. It signalled the beginning of the end for South Korea.
Overmars was a busy figure on the left and it was his pass after 67 minutes that enabled Cocu to fire the wrong side of the upright as the Dutch continued to press. They were rewarded four minutes later, when Aron Winter picked out Bergkamp who evaded the attentions of substitute Kim Tae Young before placing his shot beyond Kim's reach.
That was the cue for Bergkamp, his job done, to depart allowing a chance for Van Hooijdonk to impress and, after 79 minutes, he did just that by heading in an Overmars cross to make it 4-0. A stunning solo effort from Ronald de Boer increased that score to five with six minutes remaining as the men in orange dazzled to the last at the
Velodrome.
THE MATCH STATS
Holland (2) 5 South Korea (0) 0
Holland: Van Der Sar (7), Stam (8), Numan (7) (Bogarde (7) 80), F. De Boer (7), Jonk (7), Winter (8),
R. De Boer (8) (Zenden (7) 84), Davids (8), Cocu (8), Overmars (8), Bergkamp (7) (Van Hooijdonk (7) 78).
Subs Not Used: De Goey, Hesp, Reiziger, Ooijer, Van Bronckhorst, Seedorf, Hasselbaink.
Goals: Cocu 37, Overmars 41, Bergkamp 71, Van Hooijdonk 79, R. De Boer 83.
South Korea: B. Kim (7), Young-Il Choi (6), M. Lee (5), Hong (5), S. Choi (5) (T. Kim (6) 53), Yoo (5), Doh-Keun Kim (6), Sang-Yoon Lee (7), Do-Hoon Kim (6) (Ko (6) 70), Yong-Soo Choi (6), J. Seo (7) (D. Lee (6) 77).
Subs Not Used: D. Seo, D. Jang, Sang-Hun Lee, H. Jang, L. Lee.
Booked: Yong-Soo Choi, Ko.
Att: 55,000 (crowd rating: 9)
Ref: R Wojcik (Poland) 8.
TALE OF THE TURF
| Team Name | Holland | South Korea
| | Goals | 5 | 0
| | Shots On Target | 9 | 2
| | Shots Off Target | 11 | 9
| | Blocked Shots | 4 | 0
| | Corners | 6 | 3
| | Fouls Conceded | 10 | 13
| | Offsides | 5 | 4
| | Red Cards | 0 | 0
| | Yellow Cards | 0 | 2 |
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TODAY'S TV AND RADIO
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BBC1
1.15pm Germany v Yugoslavia The two favourites from Group F clash. Can big-bottomed Savo Milosevic outfox the German defence? Or will the methodical and efficient Germans triumph?
7.30pm USA v Iran The non-football fan's choice of game for the opening round. With the Iranian team already muttering darkly about the forces of Western imperialism (in the form of Sally Field films), expect full-blooded challenges and diplomatic incidents a-plenty.
BBC2
7.50pm World Cup What the Papers Say More tenuous World Cup connections. Next week: World Cup Antiques Roadshow.
ITV
4.00pm Jamaica v Argentina The Reggae Boyz were eventually outclassed by Croatia last week, while Argentina have yet to really hit their stride. Since it's ITV, expect comments about na�ve defending, particularly when Frank Sinclair has the ball.
10.15pm An Evening With Gary Lineker Sporadically amusing drama set around Italia 90 and that semi-final. Watch and wonder why the German woman prefers Graeme Souness to Paul Merton.
11.50pm World Cup '98 Encore All the day's action assessed.
Sky Sports 1
10.00pm World Cup Phone-In Live Have your say on the Iranian sweeper system, or whatever takes your fancy.
1.45am World Cup Phone-In Notice that the name of the programme is almost exactly as before, but with one word missing. Perhaps a repeat, then?
Sky Sports 2
8.30am Futbol Mundial Want to see foreign football that has nothing to do with the World Cup? Or would you prefer to stay in bed?
9.00am Soccer Extra
Eurosport
6.00am Football: World Cup With titles that self-descriptive, what more is there to add?
4.00pm Argentina v Jamaica Your best bet for avoiding ITV's experts .
6.30pm World Cup Le Match
7.30pm USA v Iran The first footie match to spark off a global war?
12am Football: World Cup
Radio 5 Live
1.00pm World Cup Sunday Sport Live commentary from the Germany-Yugoslavia and Jamaica-Argentina games. Probably not as good as watching it on TV. However, when Paraguay's next game comes around�
7.55pm World Cup 98 Live coverage of the USA-Iran game.
Talk Radio
4.00pm World Cup Preview Previewing the Argentina-Jamaica clash.
4.30pm Argentina v Jamaica Live commentary from Paris.
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News 7 
