【英语生活】征战世界杯的亚洲球星逐个数

NEW ZEALAND

Ryan Nelsen

No World Cup squad depends more on a single player than New Zealand does on Ryan Nelsen. On a team largely cobbled together from players in little-known leagues, the 1.85-meter-tall defender is big-time -- a member of the English Premier League's Blackburn Rovers. And while he was taunted as a child for playing soccer, a 'softies' game in rugby-mad New Zealand, today Mr. Nelsen -- who plays a head-busting aerial game with bone-jarring tackles -- is the country's highest-paid sportsman. His All Whites, the lowest-ranked of the 32 teams in the World Cup finals, are considered a weak contender. But they notched a stunning win in a late-May warm-up against 16th-ranked Serbia.

-- Simon Louisson

SOUTH KOREA

Park Ji-sung

Park Ji-sung, known as the 'Oxygen Tank' for his indefatigable style of play, will participate in his third World Cup this year. He has shone in past tournaments, scoring a goal in 2002 and 2006. This year, the 29-year-old -- a midfielder for Manchester United during the regular season -- is captain of the South Korean team and arguably its most formidable player. 'I will play in this World Cup as if it is the last chance for me,' Mr. Park said in a sports blog. 'We want to be remembered in the World Cup that only remembers a winner.'

-- Jaeyeon Woo

JAPAN

Keisuke Honda

With his dyed-blond hair and confident swagger, 23-year-old Keisuke Honda is Japan's key player. A powerful midfielder and free-kick specialist with a thunderous left foot, he will be crucial if Japan is to make it out of an extremely tough group that includes Cameroon, Denmark and the Netherlands. As a member of the Russian Premier League team CSKA Moscow, Mr. Honda scored a stunning goal against Seville in this season's Champions League. Performances like that have generated interest from top European clubs, including Liverpool, and solid play at the World Cup could see his star rise even further.

-- Andrew Joyce

NORTH KOREA

Chong Dae Se

Chong Dae Se isn't your typical North Korean. The confident 26-year-old was born and raised in Japan, and has been playing for the Japanese team Kawasaki Frontale for five years. Now, he sees the World Cup as a chance to prove he can play in the European leagues. 'I think there are more chances and opportunities to come,' says Mr. Chong (whose name is sometimes spelled Jong Tae Se). North Korea will play in the 'Group of Death' with top-seeded teams Brazil, Portugal and the Ivory Coast. But Mr. Chong says he feels no pressure to live up to North Korea's last World Cup performance in 1966, when it stunned Italy to reach the quarterfinals. 'Everyone thinks that we are going to lose. So if we tie or even win, that will make huge news,' he says.

-- Jaeyeon Woo

AUSTRALIA

Tim Cahill

Born in Sydney to a Samoan mother and an English father, Australia's goal-scoring hero Tim Cahill almost wasn't a Socceroo: FIFA ruled him ineligible to play for Australia because of an appearance for Samoa in a youth tournament when he was 14, but relented in 2004. He went on to score Australia's first-ever World Cup goal in 2006. Much is expected of him this year: His recent seasons with the English Premier League's Everton have been impressive and the Socceroos have drawn one of the more difficult groups -- with Germany, Serbia and Ghana.

-- Enda Curran

新西兰

瑞恩•尼尔森(Ryan Nelsen)

没有哪一支征战世界杯的队伍像新西兰队依赖尼尔森一样依赖单个球员。新西兰队基本上由来自名不见经传的联赛球队的球员拼凑而成，身高1米85的后卫尼尔森则是其中的佼佼者──他效力于英超联赛(English Premier League)布莱克本流浪者队(Blackburn Rovers)。虽然他小时候因为踢足球而受人嘲笑（新西兰疯狂热衷橄榄球，将足球视为“傻子”游戏），但如今的尼尔森以强有力的身体冲撞技巧从事足球这项考验脚上功夫的运动，已经成为新西兰收入最高的运动明星。绰号“全白队”(All Whites)的新西兰队在世界杯决赛阶段的32支参赛队中排名垫底，被视为弱旅。不过在5月底对阵排名第16位的塞尔维亚的热身赛上，新西兰却以精彩表现获胜。

--西蒙•路易森(Simon Louisson)

韩国

朴智星(Park Ji-sung)

在场上不知疲倦的朴智星绰号“氧气筒”(Oxygen Tank)，今年已是他第三次世界杯之行。往届世界杯上他都有精彩表现，在2002年和2006年分别打进一球。这位29岁的曼联(Manchester United)中场今年是韩国队队长，也堪称韩国实力最强的球员。朴智星在一个体育博客上说，本届世界杯我将以抓住最后机会的心态全力以赴。我们希望在只记取胜者的世界杯上留下回忆。

--Jaeyeon Woo

日本

本田圭佑(Keisuke Honda)

染成金色的头发、充满自信的昂首阔步，23岁的本田圭佑是日本的重要球员。本田圭佑是一名强有力的中场球员，擅长任意球，左脚极其强劲。日本所在的小组包括了喀麦隆、丹麦和荷兰，出线形势极其严峻，要想出线的话，本田圭佑将会是关键人物。他效力于俄罗斯超级联赛的莫斯科中央陆军(CSKA Moscow)俱乐部，在本赛季的欧冠联赛对阵西甲强队塞维利亚(Seville)时打进精彩一球。这样的表现引起了利物浦(Liverpool)等欧洲顶级俱乐部的兴趣，而如果能在世界杯上表现出色，他还可能有更大的上升空间。

-- Andrew Joyce

朝鲜

郑大世(Chong Dae Se)

郑大世并不是你所想的那种典型朝鲜人。26岁的他充满自信，在日本出生长大，并曾在日本俱乐部川崎前锋(Kawasaki Frontale)效力五年。现在他将世界杯视为证明自己有实力在欧洲俱乐部踢球的机会。他说，我觉得欧洲有更多的机会。朝鲜所在的小组是“死亡之组”，与排名最高的几支种子队巴西、葡萄牙和科特迪瓦同组。不过郑大世说，他觉得要再现朝鲜队1966年上一次打进世界杯时的表现没什么压力，当时朝鲜淘汰了意大利挺进八强。郑大世说，所有人都觉得我们会输，因此要是我们打平甚至赢球，那就成了爆炸新闻了。

-- Jaeyeon Woo

澳大利亚

蒂姆•卡希尔(Tim Cahill)

卡希尔生于悉尼，母亲为萨摩亚人，父亲为英国人。这位澳大利亚的英雄射手差点没能入绰号“袋鼠队”(Socceroo)的澳大利亚队：国际足联(FIFA)裁定他不能代表澳大利亚出赛，因为他曾经在14岁的时候代表萨摩亚参加一个青少年锦标赛，不过2004年国际足联放宽了限制。2006年卡希尔打进了澳大利亚在世界杯上的史上第一粒进球。今年他被寄予厚望：他近来在英超俱乐部埃弗顿(Everton)有精彩表现，而“袋鼠队”所在的小组对手德国、塞尔维亚和加纳都很强劲。

-- Enda Curran