Korea’s national soccer team on Wednesday took a tough first step toward the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympic Games.

Headed by coach Pim Verbeek, the national squad of players aged 22 or under beat Yemen one-to-zero in a Group F Olympic regional qualifier. The game's only goal came 23 minutes into the second half as striker Yang Don-hyun lobbed the ball into the net.

Although Korea took home the win, its performance fell far short of satisfying Korean soccer fans.

Yemen, with a FIFA ranking of 143rd, had been regarded as a “dark horse,” to beat the 44th-ranked Korean squad. Moroever, its players were not well-rested, having arrived in Korea just one night before the match. Still, despite the disparity in rankings and unfavorable circumstances, the Yemeni team's tight defense kept it in the game.

Many Korean soccer fans were reminded of their national squad’s chronic underperformance against weaker teams, raising concern that there may be further bumps on the road to Beijing.