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Hiddink proud of his team

Hiddink's contract expires after South Korea's final game

SEOUL, South Korea (Reuters) -- Germany's experience was behind their 1-0 semi-final victory that ended South Korea's astonishing World Cup run on Tuesday, said the co-hosts' coach Guus Hiddink.

"We are disappointed at not being there [in the final] but we'll try to calm down the emotions. The German team were a little bit more experienced on many occasions [in the match]," he said.

"We can be proud of the boys and what they did not just tonight but especially over the long run of the tournament."

South Korea have gone further than any other Asian nation at the World Cup finals and made history by winning their first match after failing to taste victory in five previous finals. (Pride of Asia)

They then won their first round group after beating Poland and Portugal and drawing with the United States, before putting out Italy in the second round and Spain in the quarter-finals.

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"The expectations in Korea were enormous but not realistic. Earlier in the tournament I tried to keep the pressure away from the team," Hiddink said.

"The team has really come together but you have to keep in mind that they play in the Korean league, which is a second or third class league.

Hiddink felt his players struggled before the break and gave Germany too much respect and too much space in which to play.

"We didn't have the power in the first half and we gave our opponents too much room on the ball and were too respectful," the Dutchman said. (Hiddink profile)

"We threatened occasionally but we didn't have great chances and neither did the Germans. But they are a little bit more experienced and at the end that will pay."

"We tried in the second half to close them down but in the first half we had a little too much respect for the German team."

"I am very proud of how the players performed. I don't want to look for many excuses."

Ballack winner

Hiddink has become a national icon

Germany won the match through playmaker Michael Ballack who scored at the second attempt in the 75th minute after his first effort was saved by Lee Woon-jae. (Match report)

"This team was always reacting and we were controlling the game at that time but we lost possession in midfield which wasn't good and we killed ourselves in that moment," Hiddink said.

"I was confident the team could react but we couldn't find the ultimate chance. We threatened a lot but we couldn't score."

Triple world champions Germany have reached their seventh final and will face Brazil or Turkey in Sunday's final in the Japanese port city of Yokohama.

"The Germans always have a quality that they can adjust to the situation. I'm sure that they would be able to keep up with Brazil for example," said Hiddink.

However, the Dutchman was hopeful his team could make one last effort in the third-place playoff in front of the home fans in Daegu on Saturday.

"There's disappointment tonight but we'll recover. I hope to bring the players to an acceptable level again to go for third place. We have swallowed this disappointment but we have to recover to go for third place in front of the home crowd."

The co-hosts will play the losers of the other semi-final between Brazil and Turkey that takes place in the Japanese city of Saitama on Wednesday.