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Staff reporter
Lee Jung-soo is actually a defender in the South Korean squad. However, he has scored twice to be the top in the team so far, stealing some of the spotlight from his more famous teammates for his ability to find the net.
The J-League player dashed to the far post and pounced on Ki Sung-yueng's free kick for an early 1-0 lead against Greece Thursday, and again in the Nigeria match he scored to level the game 1-1.
Lee, also a central defender, is now tied with Korean legend Hong Myung-bo in overall World Cup goals.
The 30-year-old had scored only twice in 25 international games before heading to South Africa.
In the past, Lee, who is now playing for Kashima Antlers started his professional career in 2002 as a forward for local club LG Cheetahs, the predecessor of FC Seoul.
But the following year, he switched to defense following the advice from then team manager Cho Kwang-rae.
At 1.85 meters tall, and good in the air, Lee scored seven goals since last year in the Japanese league.
"As Korea conceded the first goal of the game, if Lee hadn't tied the game, the Korean dream might have been blown away," former MBC Commentator Shin Moon-sun, a professor at Myongji University, said.
While Gonzalo Higuain of Argentina leads the goal race with three, Lee currently shares second place with seven other players, including Luis Fabiano of Brazil and David Villa of Spain.
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