After the final whistle blew in the Germany-South Korea World Cup soccer match yesterday morning, it was hard to tell if the bleary eyes were from exhaustion or despair.

As they had for the past several weeks, fans gathered during overnight hours in the Lotte Plaza market off U.S. 40 in Ellicott City to watch South Korea's improbable run on live television, drawn by the market crowds, Korean cable and the hope that their team could win the tournament.

But their hopes for the cup ended with yesterday's loss, meaning that fans can sleep more, but dream less.

"They tried so hard, but didn't make it," groaned Don Ahn, 35, as he rubbed the shadows under his eyes. "World Cup won't be the same [since Korea lost]."

In many ways, it was miraculous that the matchup for which the fans were gathered in the supermarket yesterday came to be.

Most fans thought it was enough that South Korea was co-host - with Japan - of the tournament, one of the world's most popular sporting events. The country had never won a World Cup game in five trips. To advance a few rounds would be a nice bonus.

By contrast, Germany has won three World Cup titles.

But when South Korea beat Portugal and Poland, fans began to get excited. When the team tied the United States to win Group D, fans were overwhelmed. Then, improbably, it overcame Italy in the second round and beat Spain in a penalty-kick shootout to advance to the semifinals.

"I was so excited and proud, I had to stay up and watch," Woo Jun Choi said during yesterday's game.

The viewing area of choice for many Koreans in Howard County was Lotte Plaza, near Ellicott City. The Korean-style grocery store also has an electronics section with large-screen TVs and Korean cable. Some of the games have drawn more than 200 people to the store, although only about 50 gathered around the two big screens yesterday because it was a work day.

Despite the low turnout and the early hour, enthusiasm was high. While excited children were glued to the screen, adults chattered in English and Korean and held cigarettes in their hands, bouncing their legs nervously until there was a break in the action and they could rush out for a smoke break.

Ahn, who works at Lotte Plaza, arrived at the store at 7 a.m. so he could get a front-row seat where he could bounce like a pogo stick, depending on how close the Koreans were to scoring.

As the red-shirted Korean team advanced up the field, Ahn chanted "Guh-deh, guh-deh," in slightly hypnotic Korean. (Translation: "All right, all right.")

When the ensuing kick went wide, he jerked out of his chair as though he had been hooked.

"Argh," he yelped as he clasped his hands to his head. (No translation necessary.)

The game remained close until the 75th minute, when Germany's Michael Ballack scored the game's only goal amid a cacophony of strangled screams in the Lotte supermarket.

Although there were a few more close calls, Korea did not score. When the final whistle blew, South Korea players slumped to the grass, their actions mirrored in the sighs and head-shaking of the fans in Lotte Plaza.

But as fans hustled out of the supermarket to get to their jobs, they took pride in the fact that South Korea had done so well. No other Asian country has ever advanced as far in World Cup play.

And the team could still end up with a third-place trophy. Korea will play either Turkey or Brazil for that prize at 7 a.m. Saturday.

"I'll be there," Ahn said. "Third place would be good."