Korea looks to solve Iran

TEHRAN (Yonhap) ― South Korea will try to end its winless streak versus Iran when the two rivals clash in a friendly match in Tehran on Tuesday.

The kickoff will be 4:25 p.m. Tuesday at Azadi Stadium in the Iranian capital, or 9:55 p.m. in Seoul.

It will be the last match of 2014 for South Korea, coached by ex-German international Uli Stielike. South Korea defeated Jordan 1-0 in Amman on Friday to begin its two-match Middle East road trip.

South Korea is ranked 66th in the world, fourth-highest among Asian countries. Iran is the top Asian nation at 51st.

Iran also holds an edge over South Korea in their all-time meetings with 11 wins, nine losses and seven draws. South Korea has never beaten Iran on the road, with a record of three losses and two draws.

The Iran match will be Stielike’s last chance to test players in action before naming the South Korean roster for the 2015 AFC Asian Cup, which will open in January in Australia.

Stielike has said he will try to give each of his 22 players on the current roster a chance to play, adding that he’d rather get a firsthand look at the players than reading reports about their performance on their clubs or watching their highlights.

The narrow victory over Jordan left much to be desired, especially on the defensive end. Jordan hit the goal post early in the first half after taking advantage of some awful defensive coverage, and South Korea was lucky to walk away with the clean sheet victory.

Stielike said he was mostly satisfied with the result and blamed the poor field conditions for mediocre passes made by his defenders.

Stielike also said he was happy with the performance by forward Park Chu-young, who was named to the national team for the first time after his disastrous FIFA World Cup in Brazil in June.

With South Korea’s two main target men, Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors’ Lee Dong-gook and Ulsan Hyundai’s Kim Shin-wook, out with leg injuries, Stielike decided to give Park a chance to redeem himself.

Park, who’d spent a few months without a club before signing with Saudi Arabia’s Al-Shabab last month, didn’t score again Jordan, but Stielike said the forward still had a decent game.

“Park didn’t get much help from his teammates because their passes were off the mark,” the coach said.

“He deserves credit for staying patient and composed, and for keeping the ball well when he had it. Park also showed good stamina.”

Han Kyo-wan, a midfielder in just his fourth international match, scored his first goal for South Korea with a 34th-minute header.

Stielike said Han, playing on the right wing, made a smart move by cutting toward the middle on the scoring play.

The coach said Han set a great example for other attackers on either flank.

“Han’s goal came in an excellent strategic play,” Stielike said. “Our wingers will need to make similar moves on offense.”

Injuries remain a concern for Stielike. Forward Lee Keun-ho was unavailable against Jordan with back spasms and winger Son Heung-min played only the second half last week after dealing with right quadriceps fatigue.

Han was taken out of the match just after the hour mark with minor aches. Cho Young-cheol, who started in midfield, only played the first half before leaving with shoulder pains.

South Korea will have more than just the Iranian players to deal with Tuesday. Azadi Stadium, the venue for the match, has long been known as one of the most intimidating environments in Asian football, with a capacity of 100,000. And with Iran’s ban on women in public stadiums still in effect, it will be thousands of screaming male fans in the seats. Carlos Queiroz, Iran’s head coach, has recently pleaded with fans to pack the stadium in a recent television interview.