YOKOHAMA, 22 June — South Korea’s determination could earn them another World Cup upset while favorites such as France and Argentina were too complacent at the tournament in Asia, Brazil legend Pele said yesterday.

Pele said in two interviews published on the day that the global football world features no more weak teams.

“Countries such as France, Argentina and Portugal which went home early should be humble enough to learn the lessons. They should not hide behind excuses about injuries and referees.

“In truth, they were punished for being complacent,” Pele said in his column in the Daly Yomiuri paper.

In an interview with the official World Cup website, www.fifaworldcup.com, Pele said: “It is sometimes dangerous to be considered the best, the favorite, because you relax mentally.

“You cannot go into a game and say it will be easy. There are no easy game,” he said.

France were the first title holders to be sent packing without a win and scoring a goal. Co-favorites Argentina and Portugal also had to leave after the group stage while co-hosts South Korea stunned Italy in the Round of 16.

“The days are long gone when each World Cup group contained a weak little team for everyone to crush,” said Pele, who is in Asia as a representative of sponsors MasterCard.

Pele said that the football calendar may feature too many matches but insisted the teams were still to blame.

“You insult the opposition if you do not concentrate as hard before a game against, say, Senegal as you would for a game against Brazil,” Pele said.

Senegal beat France in the tournament opener and are first-timer in the quarterfinals, just like Turkey and South Korea. The US returned to this round for the first time since 1930 while the others are Brazil, England, Spain and Germany.

“Football has spread so effectively, so fast and so far around the planet that almost every country with ambition can now be at least competitive on the international stage.

“This ‘globalization’ of world football is, for anyone who loves the game, one of the most positive signs to emerge from, appropriately, the first World Cup of the new century,” said Pele.

Looking at the four underdogs in the quarterfinals, Pele said that South Korea had an excellent chance to continue into the final four over Spain after already beating the likes of Portugal and Italy. “I think Korea have a better chance to beat Spain than the US have to beat Germany,” Pele told www.fifaworldcup.com.