New frame of mind

CANBERRA (Yonhap) ― As his team prepares to take on a defensive-minded Kuwait at the ongoing Asian Cup, South Korea head coach Uli Stielike said Monday his players will break down the wall with an opportunistic offense.

South Korea defeated Oman 1-0 in Group A action last Saturday at Canberra Stadium, thanks to a goal by forward Cho Young-cheol in the dying moments of the first half. Stielike’s team will take on Kuwait at the same stadium on Tuesday. The kickoff is 6 p.m. local time and 4 p.m. in Seoul.

At the prematch press conference, Stielike said he predicted Kuwait will play a passive game against South Korea and that his players will have to make the most of their scoring chances.

“Our mindset will be that the team that possesses the ball will dominate the match,” Stielike said. “But we will have a difficult time when we have kept the ball for 90 minutes and still can’t find the back of the net. We’ll have to capitalize on our opportunities.”

On paper, Kuwait is a huge underdog. Kuwait lost to Australia 4-1 in the tournament opener last Friday. Kuwait netted the very first goal of the tournament but then the host country scored four consecutive goals for the victory.

South Korea is ranked 69th, third-highest among the AFC-member states behind Iran (51st) and Japan (54th). Kuwait is at 125th, 16th in the AFC and second-lowest among Asian Cup participants, ahead only of the 150th-ranked North Korea.

When asked if he felt Kuwait would come out attacking against South Korea after losing the first match, Stielike said Kuwait wouldn’t change its approach overnight.

“It’s difficult to switch gears and get into an attacking mindset right away,” the coach added. “It doesn’t matter how the opponent will play. It’s more important how well we can play.”

Looking back on the victory over Oman, Stielike pointed out that his players made life difficult for themselves because they weren’t able to convert their opportunities and vowed that things will be different against Kuwait.

Injuries remain a major concern for South Korea. The team lost starting right fullback Kim Chang-soo to a thigh injury just 18 minutes into the match against Oman.

Then in the second half, South Korea had another scare when midfielder Lee Chung-yong was stretchered off the field with a right calf injury. It was the same leg that was shattered on a hard tackle during a preseason match in 2011, a gruesome, career-threatening injury that kept Lee out of action for almost a year.

In addition, Cho Young-cheol, who scored the winner against Oman, came down with leg cramps in the second half.

Stielike said Cho appears to be back to full strength, but he will have to wait and see if Kim and Lee will be ready for Tuesday.

“Usually, I set my starting lineup a day before the match, but I will have to wait a bit longer this time,” Stielike said. “I have to see tomorrow who can or can’t play in the match.”

Stielike stressed that he isn’t taking Kuwait lightly.

“I don’t consider Kuwait a weak side, even though Australia defeated Kuwait 4-1,” he said. “I know some people believe South Korea will have an easy time against Kuwait, but I will tell my players to be careful of their opponents.”

Korea received even more bad news on the injury front on Monday, as winger Son Heung-min sat out practice with a cold.

Team officials said Son had been dealing with a mild fever since Sunday morning, and his status for Tuesday’s match is questionable.

Losing Son and his ability to generate offense with his speed and smarts will be a major blow to South Korea, which lacks a proven scorer up front.

At his own press conference later in the day, Kuwait head coach Nabil Maaloul bristled at Stielike’s notion that Kuwait would only play defensive football.

“I’ve never once told my players to keep playing defense,” said the Tunisian-born Maaloul, who has been with Kuwait since Dec. 7.

“Against Australia, we kept trying to attack after scoring the first goal. We’re desperate to win.”