France Continues Terrible Run of Results as Evangelistic Efforts Gain Success

France has continued its horrid run of results in the World Cup, and remain without a win in the World Cup finals since their 1998 victory over Brazil. South Korea became France’s tormentors this time, as they spectacularly came from a goal behind, to snatch a late goal and earn a share of the points.

|PIC1|Thierry Henry gave France the perfect start to the game with an early goal; connecting with Sylvain Wiltord’s deflected shot slide the ball home.

France dominated the first half and Patrick Vieira was denied a goal when his header was blocked by Korea keeper Lee Woon-Jae after it crossed the line, but the referee ruled out the effort.

With just 15 minutes remaining, South Korea finally started to apply some pressure on the 1998 World Cup winners, and it did not take long for their efforts to produce results. With under 10 minutes remaining Park Ji-sung pushed the ball over the despairing reach of Fabian Barthez, to spark joyous celebrations among the South Korean fans and players.

The shock draw followed Brazil’s 2-0 victory over a spirited Australian side, who were unlucky to leave with no points.

This afternoon, Switzerland also won confidently 2-0 against Togo leaving Group G wide open between France, Korea and Switzerland going into the final round of group games.

The excitement on the pitch has also led to renewed evangelistic efforts off the pitch. An evangelistic show about football has recently been the most popular among downloadable programmes available on the Christian internet TV channel, Premier.tv.

|TOP|Produced by Athletes in Action, ‘The Prize’ covers four football stories from around the world including South Korea's story in the 2002 World Cup.

Shawn Keith of Athletes in Action commented on The Prize, “It is a tool for the church, Para-church ministries, football clubs, and individuals wanting to use the platform of sports for outreach. The awareness is then heightened as the World Cup, the most watched sporting event in the world, takes centre stage.”

Premier Media Group's Chairman, David Heron said, “As Christian broadcasters, we at Premier are responsible for sourcing relevant, inspiring and entertaining programmes for our viewers on Premier.tv. The Prize is an example of great programming that is significant to a huge audience and still carries the important message of the gospel. No wonder it's shot to number one in our charts!”

Heron added, “Football will remain at the front of the nation's thoughts over the coming weeks, but churches shouldn't feel they need to compete with the World Cup. Instead, we should utilise it. With programmes like The Tim Howard Story and The Prize available to view free from Premier.tv, this is a great opportunity to share our love of the gospel with friends and colleagues who are fans of football.”