Lakenheath Old Boys

We are all former students at Lakenheath High School and other public schools in East Anglia. We were in school in the 70s and 80s and drank deeply from the well of British culture of those decades - the pints, the telly, and of course the footie!

Monday, May 17, 2010

World Cup Preview - Group B - South Korea

Nickname: "Taegeuk Warriors"

FIFA ranking: 52nd (sic!)

Coach: Huh Jung Moo

Game Schedule:
June 12 – South Korea v. Greece (Port Elizabeth, 10 a.m. EST, ESPN)
June 17 – South Korea v. Argentina (Jo'burg, 2:30 p.m., ESPN)
June 22 – South Korea v. Nigeria (Durban, 2:30 p.m., ESPN2)

Prospects: South Korea are still far and away the best side in Asia, but they have lost some ground since their thrilling exploits on home turf in 2002. Gaffer Huh Jung Moo has named a provisional squad with few surprises that relies heavily on those who have had European experience. The Taegeuk Warriors had an easy run in qualifying, winning Asian Group B handily. They have had a reassuring run of recent friendly victories including a 2-0 win in Seoul against Ecuador.

Key Player: ManYoo schemer Park Ji Sung makes the Korean midfield tick.

Youngster to watch: 21-year old midfielder Ki Sung-Yeong has been lighting it up for Celtic in the SPL this season.

Who Will Get the Goals: Monaco striker Park Chu-Young, who was leading scorer in qualifiers.

Who Will Get the Cards: 33 year old Lee Young-Pyo has been capped 111 times. I fear that time has crept up on the veteran stopper.

Funniest Name - If we're being honest, they're all a bit funny to the Western ear. This time around I'm plumping for Kim Dong-Jin.

Prediction: A narrow escape from Group B on the last day against Nigeria, followed by the unenviable task of meeting France in the Round of 16.

posted by The Blue Devil @ 6:10 PM 

1 Comments:

Blogger gooner71 said...

You know on one hand, the Koreans have never managed to keep the edge that Hiddink and their home advantage gave them in '02. That said, they do have established players in competitive leagues now. Park Ji Sung's performance and leadership will be key. He's not brilliant, but he is dogged and indefatigable which might give them the edge over Nigeria who seem just destined to not step up to the next level now that their golden generation has moved on and the mantle of Sub-Saharan African potential has been taken over by the Ivorians.

2:25 PM  

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