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It sounds obvious to say, but putting the ball in the back of the net will be the order of the day for Korea when they face off against Ghana tomorrow.
It’s a pretty self-evident statement – you can’t win a football game without doing so – but for as well as South Korea played in their opener against Uruguay at Education City Stadium last week, creating genuine scoring opportunities still proved a struggle.
Star man Son Heung-min was still called upon as the key creative outlet, but Uruguay offered him little room in which to work his magic, often looking to double team the Tottenham star, which made it hard for him to create anything when they ball came his way.
Ghana, too, will be wary of Son’s ability and no doubt look to deny him space and time on the ball, so the attacking burden will need to be shared across the front third if Korea are to find a way to put the ball into the net.
To that end the news is disappointing for Korea with winger Hwang Hee-chan still sidelined by injury, which means a likely second start for Na Sang-ho. Whether Paulo Bento opts to stick with Hwang Ui-jo, who missed a gilt-edged chance against Uruguay, or whether he gives a start to the more in-form Cho Gue-sung remains to be seen.
While there are calls for Lee Kang-in, the ‘it’ boy of Korean football behind Son, it’s doubtful Bento will bend to the demands of the fans, with the Mallorca star still likely limited to cameos off the bench in which to make an impact.
At the other end of the pitch there are serious injury concerns too. Napoli defender Kim Min-jae went down injured late in the game against Uruguay, and while he played out the match, the defender has missed training since which has to put him in some doubt heading into the game against Ghana at Education City Stadium.
If Kim were to miss it would be a serious blow given his importance to this side, not just through his quality but his leadership role within the team and across the back four. Kwon Kyung-won would loom as the likely replacement to sit in alongside Kim Young-gwon – the player he replaced at Gamba Osaka when Kim moved to K League champions, Ulsan Hyundai.
It would be easy to fall into the trap of looking at this group on paper and thinking this is the easiest game for Korea; not that there are any easy games at a World Cup. But Ghana proved in their narrow loss to a star-studded Portugal that they have the weapons to trouble, and there will be a large and very vocal Ghanaian crowd in to support them.
Korea will need to play with the same intent and intensity that they did against Uruguay. They did very well to limit the opportunities for the star men of Uruguay and will need to do the same against Ghana.
A win for Korea would set themselves up nicely in this group with four points after two matches, and that has to be the aim tomorrow.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
KIM YOUNG-GWON – If Kim Min-jae does miss, a lot of defensive responsibility will fall on the shoulders of the Ulsan defender. Now 32, he has been a mainstay of the national team for much of the past decade and is one of the most experienced players in the squad, with this his third World Cup. Of course it was he who opened the scoring in their thrilling win over Germany in Russia four years ago.
SON HEUNG-MIN – Whenever South Korea walk out onto the field, Son is always the the danger man in the side – and the opposition know it. When he plays with Tottenham, he can play second fiddle to Harry Kane, which perhaps allows him to, if not fly under the radar necessarily, to not attract the same attention as he does when he pulls on the national team kit. Still looking for his iconic ‘World Cup moment’ there would be no better time to deliver it.
HWANG IN-BEOM – Playing alongside the robust Jung Woo-young in the centre of midfield, Hwang had a brilliant game against Uruguay in helping break up the play and dictate the tempo for Korea. While Jung will play that screening role, Hwang has more license to get forward and be more creative and Korea will need that creativeness.
WHAT THEY SAID
Paulo Bento – South Korea coach
“I said earlier I do not feel any pressure, I never did and never will.
“During the first game, we had a chance of at least ensuring a third-place finish. In the second game, we will keep this opportunity… we will enter the field with a focus on a win.
“I don’t feel any pressure whatsoever. I would love the players to feel the way I do, but I know they come from a different culture… We will have a difficult game but we are able to do well.
“We have great and utmost respect for a great team in Ghana and the players who compete at a very high level,” Bento said of Otto Addo’s side.
“For our strategy, we have to try to be ourselves. We are very well aware of the skills and how good Ghana are, this will be a match where in some moments we will have the capacity to control the game.
“They have skilled players from a technical standpoint and they are also very quick in attack. We want to control the game, and also the moments when they are in attack.”
Hwang In-beom – South Korea midfielder
“I think we gave our people hope with our performance in the first match. This time, we would all like to make our fans happy with a better result.
“We have to play our game and stick together for 90 minutes. We have to capitalize on Ghana’s weaknesses to create scoring chances. They have some speedy and physical players, but I think there are holes that we can exploit. We have to be efficient when we try to convert our opportunities.
“I felt some nerves before the Uruguay match but once I reached the stadium, I was able to regain my composure and confidence.
“I found my rhythm in that match. If we can all execute our game plan and show what we’ve been working on, we should have a great chance of winning this match.”
PREDICTIONS
Michael Church
South Korea 2-0 Ghana
Paul Williams
South Korea 2-1 Ghana
Martin Lowe
South Korea 3-2 Ghana
Photo: Sarah Stier – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images
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