Tottenham defender Lee Young-Pyo savoured the moment as South Korea chalked up their first win in the World Cup on European soil.

Goals from Lee Chun-Soo and Ahn Jung-Hwan gave them a 2-1 victory against Togo, who were making their debut in the finals.

It means the Koreans are now in pole position to qualify for the knock-out stages after the draw between France and Switzerland.

Lee said: "I really enjoyed the match. It was a great atmosphere.

"We were pretty nervous in the first half but that completely went away.

"The heat was tough on all of us but we drank a lot of water so we were not dehydrated and we got the result we wanted."

Coach Dick Advocaat was delighted at the way his side fought back after going behind to a goal from Mohamed Kader.

The former Rangers boss said: "It's so important to win your first game because it means you have a good chance of staying in the tournament. If you lose it makes it difficult for yourself.

"You can see what winning the first game meant to the teams that did that in their first matches. The relief was evident."

Advocaat went for a more attacking formation in the second half and it paid dividends.

He said: "I didn't recognise the team in the first half. We were nervous and so were Togo but we took some risks in the second half and it was fortunate it worked out for us.

"The team were very calm at half-time and worked very hard to turn things around. Everyone has to be happy at making a winning start."

Togo now faces an uphill battle in what was always going to be a tough group.

Even the return of coach Otto Pfister could not give them the victory the impoverished nation craved.

Pfister was critical of the way his team applied themselves.

He said: "If you coach an African team you have to respect your opponents.

"Everyone was over-confident, me included, and we paid the price."