BigTips Betting News
A to Z of WORLD CUP SOUTH AFRICA 2010 - South Korea
SOUTH KOREA:
South Korea, sometimes known as Korea Republic, are the envy of all their Asian football neighbours. The Taeguk Warriors, as they are nicknamed, are the continent’s most frequent visitors to the FIFA World Cup Finals. This will be their seventh consecutive finals and, thanks to their semi-final appearance in 2002, they are the most successful Asian nation.
Be that as it may, getting to South Africa was no easy matter. In the multi-round fixtures that make up the World Cup qualification process in the Asian Confederation, Korea Republic managed to finish top of Group 3 despite some very lacklustre performances.
Matches against fierce rivals North Korea are always tight affairs, and so it proved in the final round of qualification. Two scoreless draws earlier in Round 3 were followed by a 1-1 draw in neutral Shanghai. However South Korean spirits were lifted by back-to-back wins over Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. A crucial 1-1 away draw with Iran set them up for a
1-0 home victory over the men from the 49th Parallel. Passage to South Africa was finally secured with a 2-0 away win over UAE.
Korea Republic’s Head Coach is Huh Jung-Moo, now in his third stint since he took over in December 2007. He recently trimmed his squad of 30 down to 26. Most of his players remain largely unknown outside the Asian Confederation. This is not to say they are bad players, merely that they are relatively unknown.
That could not be said of the captain and the side’s talisman, Manchester United’s Park Ji-Sung. Nominally on the wing, he is the motor that drives the whole team forward. Almost of equal importance will be Monaco’s Park Chu-Yung, widely seen as the solution to the side’s goal-scoring problems, who at the relatively young age of 24 will be making his second World Cup Finals appearance.
The Taeguk Warriors have been drawn in Group B along with Argentina, Greece and Nigeria. Given Argentina’s rather flaky performances of late, this is seen as a fairly open group. Bet365 are offering 10/1 on South Korea topping the group whilst Totesport see them making the last 16 at 11/4.
Beyond the last 16 lie the quarter-finals which Paddy Power has them making at 17/2. However, in this their eight World Cup Finals, Korea Republic will be hoping to equal their 2002 pinnacle, a semi-final spot – quoted by bwin at 40/1. If that were to be achieved then the unknown beckons: a first ever Final appearance, currently at 125/1 with Betfred. Immortality awaits the Taeguk Warriors were they to lift the trophy, and you can get 250/1 from Bluesquare for this Asian first.
Posted: Friday, June 4th, 2010 @ 09:06 pm by Mark
Other recent news
-
Bigtips.co.uk European Championships Preview - Group A - Part 1
Welcome to the bigtips.co.uk preview of the European Championships, which start in three weeks on Friday 8th June. We’ll be giving you a rundown of the teams, group by group, starting... read more
-
Bigtips.co.uk Football Review – Mon 14th May
Man City 3 QPR 2Sunderland 0 Man Utd 1One of the greatest weekend’s of football ever saw Man City clinch the Premier League in the most dramatic fashion possible. It was Man Utd who dealt the first... read more
-
Bigtips.co.uk Football Preview – Friday 11th May
Man City v QPRThe final afternoon of Premier League football on Sunday and the title is still at stake and there are relegation and Champions League issues also on the table. The biggest game of... read more