South Korea in Brazil……..
This will be their 8th World Cup appearance in a row, 9 overall. South Korea is coming in as one of the weaker sides in the competition. South Korea made it with a 4-2-2 AFC fourth round qualification coming behind the group leaders, Iran.
Their best performance in the competition was in 2002, where they played as co-host with Japan. Italian and Spanish fans will have a lot more to say about South Korea’s run in that competition. Before playing co-host in 2002, South Korea hadn’t manage to secure any win from the Fifa World Cup.
The 2 time continental champions might not necessarily be on the hunt for the trophy, but to better their form when they are not playing as host.
Korea has such a balanced team that any of their players can be be considered a key player.
The Venom
Park Chu-Young will be tipped to be the key player that makes use of the South Korean offensive effort. Despite not getting a lot of team action with his club Arsenal FC, he is quite a clinical striker when he is on his national duty. As one of the most experienced member of the team, his form will set the tone of the attacking set.
Park Chu-Young
The younster, Son Heung-Min is another forward man to look for in the South Korean line-up. Other tipped target man are Lee Keun-Ho and Ji Dong-Won
The Control and Support
If there is an area that is most balanced when it comes to player ability, it will be in the midfield. To point out a key player might be unfair.
Ki Sung-Yueng
From the English football league system comes a few key midfield players. Lee Chung- Yong from Bolton FC, Ki Sung-Yueng from Swansea City FC and Kim Bo-Kyung from Cardiff City.
The Bouncers
They will have their work cut out for them. Defense will win their games. Defence is weak in comparison with other team in contention. The adaptation of the 4-2-3-1 formation will help the team defensively, but might dilute their offensive pressure.
Key players in the back line to take notice will be Kwak Tae-Hwi, Kim Chi-Woo, and Hong Jeong-Ho
So what is it for South Korea? How will they fare?
Not a lot will be expected from the team. There is no where to go but up. There are no superstars here, which gives room for anyone to be a star. That could be the incentive that drives the majority of their players to exhaust all they have to secure respect of the pitch.
The task is difficult, but the World Cup has always delivered twist and upsets to futbol. We know how futbol gets, there will be some drama, suspense and surprises. And that is why we will have to be watching to see if South Korea will make their advantage count.
