Outright percentages : 250/1
Group G Winners : 10/1
South Korea shocked the football world 4 years ago when they beat Italy and Spain to get to the semi-finals of the 2002 World Cup. It was a remarkable feat. In the group stage, an opening match win over Poland and a shock 1-0 victory over Portugal made sure they became the first Asian team to qualify from the group stage since Saudi Arabia in 1994.
In the second round they defeated Italy in extra time, a result which saw winning goal scorer Ahn Jung-Hwan sacked by his companies at Serie A club Perugia. They rimmed past Spain on penalties in the quarter finals before a narrow 1-0 defeat against Germany in the semis brought their fairytale run to a close.
expectations have risen significantly since that point and Guus Hiddink is a tough act to follow. During qualification Korea went through 2 coaches before fellow Dutchman Dick Advocaat usurped in preparation for the finals in Germany.
South Korea were far from convincing during qualification and Hiddkink’s successor, HUmberto Coelho, lasted only two qualifying matches. He resigned after an embarrassing goalless draw against the Maldives whose current pedigree includes a 12-0 defeat to Syria and 17-0 hammering against Iran.
Jo Bonfrere usurped and regardless of directing the team to their fifth successive World Cup finals, quit in Aug 2005 following lacklustre performances. Korea finished as runners up in their qualifying group but endured home and away defeats to Saudi Arabia and an away draw to lowly Uzbekistan.
While Hiddink enjoyed almost half a season with the team four years back in preparation for the 2002 finals, Advocaat, in comparison, has hardly had a chance to begin to know his squad.
South Korea will no longer be seen as an unassessed quantity and a number of players are excelling at club level in Europe. Hiddink took a number of quality players with him to PSV Eindoven following the last tournament while Park Ji-Sung secured a move to Manchester United.
it may also be argued that Korea have struggled defensively since some of their veteran defenders retired since the last World Cup. Notably former captain and defensive lynchpin Myung Bo Hong who participated in the 1990, 1994, 1998 and 2002 finals, eventually retiring with 135 caps.
Recommended Bet
Following an exceptional run four years back, South Korea could revert to their old ways of not making it past the group stage. Expectancy is at aall time record} high but they could suffer with a shock against Togo in their opening match who may be ok for a draw.
Togo vs South Korea draw 9/4.
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Tags: Advocaat, Seoul, South Korea, World Cup