S. Korea coach hoping to see efficient offense in World Cup qualifier

On the eve of his team's World Cup qualifying match against Laos, South Korea head coach Uli Stielike said Wednesday he hopes to see efficient offense.

The 54th-ranked South Korea will take on the 177th-ranked Laos at 8 p.m. Thursday at Hwaseong Sports Complex Main Stadium. South Korea have won all three meetings against Laos so far.

Stielike predicted that Laos, as the underdog, will try to sit back and play a tight defense on the South Koreans. He called on his players to use their smarts to break down the wall.

"We have to improve our passing game, and make sure we stay active on offense to create space," he said. "Simply dominating the ball possession won't lead to an efficient attack. If we hold on to the ball too much, it may affect our organization and even lead to selfish plays."

This will be the second Group G match for South Korea in the second round of the Asian qualification for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. Kuwait, Myanmar and Lebanon are the other nations in the group.

There are eight groups of five nations, and the eight group winners, plus the four best runners-up, will reach the third round.

South Korea have played in the past eight World Cup finals.

Stielike will be without his main forward, Lee Jeong-hyeop, who suffered a facial fracture in a league match last week. The coach called Lee's absence "unfortunate" but said others will simply have to pick up the slack.

"Converting scoring chances has as much to do with individual skills as with mental elements, such as poise and patience around the net," Stielike said. "We work on that in practices, but since they aren't real game situations, there's only so much you can do in practices."

With the Laos players relatively smaller in stature compared to South Koreans, Stielike said his team would do well to capitalize on set pieces.

"If we can dominate the ball possession, we should have more corner kicks or free kicks," he added. "Set pieces will be an important weapon for us tomorrow." (Yonhap)