Korea to take on Saudi Arabia

SYDNEY (Yonhap) ― South Korea will face Saudi Arabia on Sunday in its final tune-up match before the AFC Asian Cup, testing its mettle against a potential quarterfinals opponent at the continent’s largest football tournament.

Coached by Uli Stielike, South Korea has been training in Sydney since last Sunday. The match against Saudi Arabia will kick off at 8 p.m. local time, or 6 p.m. in Seoul, at Pirtek Stadium here.

This year’s Asian Cup will start next Friday with a Group A match between the host Australia and Kuwait in Melbourne. South Korea is also in Group A and will open its tournament Jan. 10 against Oman in Canberra.

South Korea will stay in Canberra to face Kuwait on Jan. 13 and close out the group stage against Australia in Brisbane on Jan. 17.

South Korea is trying to win its first Asian Cup title since 1960. It hasn’t reached the final since 1988.

Saudi Arabia is in Group B with Uzbekistan, China and North Korea. South Korea and Saudi Arabia could clash again in the quarterfinals should both countries survive the group stage.

In its previous tune-up match for the Asian Cup, Saudi Arabia lost to Bahrain 4-1 in Melbourne on Tuesday.

In the latest FIFA rankings released last month, South Korea ranked 69th, third highest among AFC members behind Iran (51st) and Japan (54th). Saudi Arabia ranked 102nd, though it still holds an edge over South Korea with five wins, four losses and seven draws in 16 previous meetings.

Stielike said Friday the significance of the last match before the big tournament isn’t lost on his team.

“It’s important to play the way we want and also to get the result we want,” he said. “If we don’t succeed in both regards, then we will have a lot of concerns heading into the tournament. This will be an opportunity for our players to build a great deal of confidence, and we will take this match seriously.”

Stielike has named three goalkeepers, eight defenders, nine midfielders and three forwards. Of the 23, Lee Chung-yong of Bolton Wanderers joined the squad early Friday after playing in a league match this week, while Ki Sung-yueng of Swansea City is scheduled to arrive in Sydney on Sunday following the club’s latest Premier League contest. The two veteran midfielders may not play against Saudi Arabia or may not play the entire match even if they make an appearance.

Two other veterans sat out Friday’s morning practice with light injuries. Defensive back Cha Du-ri was sidelined with pains in his right knee, while goalkeeper Jung Sung-ryong missed his second straight practice with sore leg muscles.

Cha is the oldest player on the team at 34. A national team official said he has complained of some pains but the injury isn’t considered serious.

“He doesn’t have any structural or ligament damage,” the official added.

Cha did some light jogging on the sidelines Friday. Jung, though, didn’t even leave the team hotel.

He sat out Wednesday’s practice and enjoyed a day off with the rest of the team on the New Year’s Day. Yet he’s still not 100 percent, and the team official said Jung needs “a bit more rest” to get back on track.

Saudi Arabia’s offense is led by forward Nasser Al-Shamrani, the 2014 reigning AFC Footballer of the Year, who finds himself in hot water in Australia after clashing with fans at the warm-up match against Bahrain.

The 31-year-old forward, who has the team-high 13 international goals in 63 matches, was seen shoving a fan who had reached out toward the players’ tunnel as Al-Shamrani exited the stadium. The player then yelled toward the stands before teammates restrained him.

Forwards deny being weakest link

With South Korea only days away from the start of the 2015 AFC Asian Cup in Australia, the country’s forwards on Friday rejected the notion that they’re collectively the weakest link on the team.

Stielike has assembled a 23-man squad for the Jan. 9-31 competition. Two national team fixtures on offense, Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors’ Lee Dong-gook and Ulsan Hyundai’s Kim Shin-wook, were ruled out with leg injuries, while another seasoned man on attack, Park Chu-young of Al-Shabab, didn’t get the nod because of his inconsistent play of late.

In their stead, Stielike named three players who have left fans concerned about the state of South Korea’s offense.

El Jaish’s Lee Keun-ho is no slouch, with 70 caps and 19 goals, more than anyone on the current squad, but the other two are virtual unknowns internationally. Cho Young-cheol of Qatar SC has yet to score in 10 international matches, and Lee Jeong-hyeop of Sangju Sangmu has been named to the national team for the first time.

Lee Keun-ho bristled at suggestions that the three forwards will present the biggest headache for South Korea, as it tries to win its first Asian Cup title since 1960.

“I don’t agree with the view (that the forward line is the weakest link),” he said. “Since the media have been saying so anyway, I suppose I have to work that much harder. All three of us will try to let our performances do all the talking.”

Stielike earlier said he selected Lee Keun-ho, 29, for his experience and energy. Cho has rarely played on the front line in his club career so far but Stielike said he sees the 25-year-old as a potential “False 9,” a striker who can slide back into midfield and create spacing problems for defenders. Lee Jeong-hyeop, the tallest of the three at 186 centimeters, could be deployed as Stielike’s target striker.

“We’ll all try our best to capitalize on our strengths,” said Lee Keun-ho, who has scored 11 of his 19 international goals against Middle Eastern opponents. South Korea has drawn two Middle East teams, Kuwait and Oman, along with the host Australia in Group A.

Cho also said he has read articles about potential goal scoring problems with the current squad but he added he tried to look at the more positive side of things.