In a tough match versus Argentina, The Republic of Korea’s soccer team had the support of nearly 600 cheering fans from the Washington D.C. area who gathered Thursday morning at a local community college to watch the game, which began at 7:30am local time. Despite the crowd’s fervor, Korea came up short with one goal to Argentina’s four.

 

Argentina’s Lionel Messi, the reigning FIFA World Player of the Year, scored the first goal off a free kick in the first 20 minutes. Korea’s Lee Chung-Yong scored for his team in the 45th minute, while Argentina’s Gonzalo Higuain racked up three of his own.  

 

The first 500 guests in line for the event, which was organized by the Washington Soccer Association and held on the Northern Virginia Community College campus in Annandale, Va., received promotional “Red Devil’s” T-shirts, Korean Air inflatable clappers, and water bottles. Event sponsors included the Embassy of the Republic of Korea, the Korean Association, the Korean Union, the Northern Virginia Korean Association, the Metropolitan Korean Association, and the Washington Korean Sports Association.

 

Local fans aren’t giving up, though, and are sure to be out in force for Korea’s next match versus Nigeria on June 22.