South Korea will begin their 2022 World Cup campaign with an air of cautious optimism.
The Taeguk Warriors enter their tenth-consecutive World Cup Finals unbeaten in their last five friendlies, with Premier League 2021/22 Golden-Boot winner Son Heung-min scoring four during that period. Furthermore, their squad is the strongest it ever has been. Their talisman Son now complemented by a glut of Korean players plying their trade in top European leagues.
However, re-capturing the miracle of their 2002 Semi-Final run will mean negotiating a tough set of opponents in Group H. Indeed, manager Paulo Bento went so far as to outright declare Portugal and Uruguay as the favorites from the start. Ghana will also be hoping to upset the applecart, and have a very strong contingent of stars in European football to boot.
Total eclipse of the Son?
Fans of the Red Devils would have feared that any chance of qualification had been irrevocably damaged when Son Heung-min suffered a fracture to his left eye socket during Tottenham Hotspur’s crucial 2-1 win over Marseille in the Champions League. Luckily for the South Korean faithful, Antonio Conte recently updated fans that Son’s surgery had been successfully completed to stabilize the area. Conte went on to say he was “confident” Son would play in the World Cup after all, albeit with the protection of a face mask.
South Korea form entering World Cup 2022
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Since former Sporting CP and Portugal Manager Paulo Bento’s appointment in August 2018, South Korea rose from 57th to 28th in the FIFA rankings. They negotiated their qualification almost flawlessly, losing their final game against the United Arab Emirates only after qualification had already been sown up.
They have shown a desire to dominate possession and pepper their opponents goal with shots. Bento sets the team up to play in an expansive style which seeks to catch their opponents out during transition. Setting up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, they eased to victory over relatively strong opponents across 2022. For example, Chile (2-0), Cameroon (1-0), Egypt (4-1) and Iceland (1-5). Nonetheless, unconvincing 2-2 draws against Costa Rica and Paraguay illustrated a persistent defensive frailty within the squad which undermined otherwise encouraging performances. In both games, South Korea were only saved from defeat by a pair of gorgeous free-kicks from Son Heung-min.
Meanwhile, in a friendly against elite opposition in Brazil they were soundly beaten in a 5-1 loss. Bento moved to a deeper-lying 4-4-2 formation, seeking to hit the Selecao on the counter-attack. However, they were unable to replicate the defensive resilience and clinical finishing that saw them knock out Germany in the 2018 World Cup.
Kim Min-jae will have to match his imperious form for Napoli and marshal a defense that hints at buckling when up against elite attackers.
Group H Opponents
Portugal
Key Men: Cristiano Ronaldo, Rafael Leao, Ruben Dias, Bruno Fernandes
Manager: Fernando Santos
FIFA Rank: 9
Best Finish: 3rd (1966)
Uruguay
Key Men: Luis Suarez, Darwin Nunez, Rodrigo Bentancur, Federico Valverde.
Manager: Diego Alonso
FIFA Rank: 14
Best Finish: Winner (1930, 1950)
Ghana
Key Men: Tariq Lamptey, Thomas Partey, Mohammed Kudus, Inaki Williams
Manager: Otto Addo
FIFA Rank: 61
Best Finish: Quarter-Finals (2010)
Key Men to Watch
Undoubtedly, Son Heung-min gathers the headlines, alongside Napoli’s ‘monster’ of a defender Kim Min-jae. However, in the midst of Son’s injury struggles, qualification may come down to the attacking depth that Korea can draw on.
Enter Hwang Uijo.
Uijo has been the most frequent goal-scorer for Paulo Bento at South Korea, stepping up to the plate in 2018-19 when Son went on a 13 game goalless run. Uijo earned a move to Nottingham Forest this summer (and an immediate loan to Olympiacos) with his strong performances both for the national team (15 goals in 37 appearances) and Bordeaux (29 in 94 appearances). Now the 6 foot 30 year old striker will need to step up again.
Prediction
Group H feels extraordinarily hard to call. All four teams boast a diversity of styles and global stars and hold the ability to take points off of each other.
I predict that South Korea will qualify in second place behind Uruguay. My thinking being that Fernando Santos’s Portugal will vastly underperform despite the strength of their squad. However, the Ghana vs South Korea game will be crucial to knowing which of these sides can take on the mantle of dark horse in this year’s competition.
PHOTOS: IMAGO / Penta Press and ZUMA Wire
