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

As Tottenham Hotspur say goodbye to their forgotten man for a seemingly generous £9.8 million fee, we look back at his troubled times in English soccer and perhaps explain why the reputation of a player sought by a host of elite European clubs in the summer of 2013 has collapsed and how he can rebuild it at Guangzhou Evergrande.

Paulinho arrived at White Hart Lane in the midst of an unprecedented level of investment due to the imminent departure of Gareth Bale to Real Madrid. A strange sense of optimism seemed to permeate the streets of N17 as the newly crowned Confederations Cup winner and Club World Cup winner seemed set to become Scott Parker’s successor at the heart of the Spurs midfield, becoming a record signing on the 6th of July. However, this bubble of hope was brutally burst soon after, and just two years later Franco Baldini is dismantling the “magnificent seven”, as the third manager of Paulinho’s time at Spurs sets out to mould the team in his image.

Now, the Brazilian midfielder has become the first casualty of a forthcoming mass exodus of the club’s ‘deadwood’. The 26-year-old cut a forlorn figure on the sidelines this term and in recent times his name has been greeted by resigned grimaces and foul mouthed tirades in the stands. He made just three starts in the Premier League last term and despite making a total of 24 appearances for the Lilywhites in all competitions this year he made only three key passes and one assist.

There are four main factors accounting for the failure of Paulinho to truly make his mark on the Premier League.

1. Instability: Having three managers in his first year was not the best start to his life in England. He has had to adapt not only to a new culture and language and the robust nature of the Premier League, but also to three very different styles of play. In his first season Paulinho made 38 appearances. Around half of these were as a supposed dynamic holding midfielder in AVB’s stilted 4-3-3. In December ‘Tactics Tim’ came in and installed a cavalier 4-4-2 as the primary formation, while Paulinho took up his familiar box-to-box role. Before long Sherwood was ousted from the hot seat, and Pochettino instigated a high pressing and intensity in a 4-2-3-1. This perpetual change must have left the player unsettled and confused tactically.

2. Playing style: It is also due to the nature of these systems that Paulinho floundered in 2014/15. Under the guidance of Villas-Boas, Paulinho could have ended up a success, but it is a fact that he does not fit into Pochettino’s plans and it is increasingly evident that he was not brought in specifically for his system. In the few starting appearances he made last term Paulinho looked out of place at all times. Last year, he was poor as a No. 10 with not enough control or guile to unlock even the leakiest defenses, equally he was not at all adept in the holding midfield role either. His trademark sideways passes suited this role more, however, his lackadaisical attitude and lack of physicality meant that the relatively untried duo of Ryan Mason and Nabil Bentaleb cemented those two positions.

3. The role of the national team: An excuse often cited as the reason for Paulinho’s horrific form over his two-year spell in North London was fatigue. Initially he came to Spurs off the back of a long and draining campaign with Corinthians and Brazil’s successful Confederations Cup campaign. At the tail end of his first year with Spurs he was protecting himself for a home World Cup. He has not been recalled to the national side following the humiliating end to their World Cup and Luis Felipe Scolari’s departure. The mental ramifications of such a loss and the length of time without a break must be addressed, and perhaps this contributed to his lackluster performances and failure to adapt too.

4. Work rate: One of the factors which always endears a player to his fans is that they try and run themselves into the ground for the cause. In recent years, Parker and Lewis Holtby have been two prime examples of this. However, despite living in London for nearly 700 days Paulinho did not learn the native language. Especially, during the past season he looked like he was just going through the motions on the pitch and every action was labored. He was also relatively injury prone throughout his spell at Tottenham, and it is said that he was a bit of a light weight on the training field too as some at Spurs would take bets on what minute he would pull up with a “strain” in training sessions. This hints at an utter lack of professionalism and disrespect for his employers and provides us with another potential reason for his failure and move to the lower quality Chinese Super League.

However, despite the jokes and scathing remarks directed towards Paulinho from the vast majority of soccer fans there are some signs of hope that he can yet salvage a successful career in China when he is reunited with Scolari. Although exceptionally rare, he did produce a few excellent Man of the Match performances during his two-year stay. For example against Aston Villa on the last day of the 2013/14 season, while he was also impressive against the weaker teams in the group stage of the 2014/15 Europa league. Indeed, last season Paulinho had to primarily rely on cameos from the bench for his game time. Most of these 16 substitute appearances were relatively mediocre, however, a few virtuosic performances amidst a general drop in form throughout the established starting XI at the tail end of the season led to substantial calls for him to be re-instated to the line-up in the latter stages of 2014/15. To be fair to Paulinho, he did make 28 starts in the Premier League the year before and there were actually high hopes for him to build on his promising tally of six goals and two assists in 2013/14. Namely, Jamie Carragher, who made a widely publicised bet with Gary Neville on him scoring above 15 Premier League goals and becoming the fulcrum of Pochettino’s new look side.

The Brazilian made it to professional soccer the hard way, moving to Lithuania at the age of 18 in order to play. It took him three years to get back to his homeland playing professional soccer in the third division and another two to sign for Corinthians in the Brazilian top-flight. This gives the impression that he could rediscover the right work ethic and mind-set for success. Perhaps now, he will be well-rested for another sojourn in an obscure league and be able to kickstart his career making his time in the People’s Republic a success.

The first fixture to satisfy our insatiable desire for Premier League football after the international break is at the Etihad, as two of the current top six prepare to fight it out in this crucial early period (kickoff time is 7:45am ET, and the game will be shown live on US TV on NBCSN).

Despite decent hauls of 14 and 11 points so far, both sides have been somewhat inconsistent so far this term. The champions have already gained a respectable points tally in order to lie in second place. However they have largely flattered to deceive, as the confident expansive side that reigned supreme last season has stagnated. The defense has looked vulnerable, as £32 million Eliaquim Mangala is still acclimatizing to English football, while Yaya Toure has looked completely out of sorts at the heart of the City midfield. The team which won with a four goal cushion six times last season (two of which were against Saturday’s opponents) haven’t surfaced so far this season as their biggest margin of victory was 3-1.

Under Mauricio Pochettino, the visitors have conjured impressive displays such as the 4-0 drubbing of QPR, but then experienced shock losses to Liverpool and West Bromwich Albion. The former Argentina center-back is still searching for his best line up, while attempting to instill his swift, pressing philosophy into his occasionally lackadaisical charges.

Head-to-head:

Manchester City have 56 wins in total, Tottenham have 57 wins and there have been 34 draws. Unfortunately for the Lilywhites in recent years there has been a monopoly over the spoils of this fixture by their Mancunian counterparts. Tottenham have lost their last four at the Etihad and won only once in their last eight meetings. Furthermore, last season they lost 11-1 on aggregate in their two fixtures (6-0, 1-5).

Key Men:

Manchester City – Yaya Toure and Edin Dzeko

The enigmatic Yaya Toure is an oxymoron in the finest sense of the word, juxtaposing a powerful sense of indifference and selfishness with moments of supreme quality and overawing physical prowess. His recent performance against Aston Villa enhanced his reputation as a luxury player, as Paul Scholes said he simply “ambles around the pitch”, while Fernandinho does the defensive work for the two of them. However, it only takes a single chance for it to be worth it. The 82nd minute of last week illustrating how even the smallest lapse of concentration from Tottenham’s defense could be enough to pique the 31-year-old Ivorian’s interest and lead to a crucial goal. The former Wolfsburg striker alongside him in the sky blue jerseys isn’t as widely renowned as the vast majority of his compatriots, but he has an instinctive knack of finding the net with 18 goals in all competitions, despite the fierce contest for places. He has also netted six times out of six against Tottenham with a goal on average every 78 minutes against them.

Tottenham – Erik Lamela and Christian Eriksen.

When Tottenham have looked good this year it has often been down to the mercurial talents of these two playmakers. While their compatriot in the offensive trio Nacer Chadli is the current highest scoring midfielder in the league with four goals this term, it is the figures of Lamela and Eriksen working around him that have allowed him to score. The rejuvenated Argentine looks like a completely different player this year, filled with confidence and running at defenses, passionate and skilful with an eye for the extraordinary. His partner cleaned up at the Tottenham awards ceremonies as he brightened up a tough season for Spurs fans last year in the closing stages with his fine form. The fleet-footed Ajax graduate is a dead ball specialist and will look to add to his tally during this game. Both at 22, they are deadly enough with their passing, pace and technique to rival any duo in the league.

Predicted Lineups:

Manchester City

Tottenham Hotspur

Effects of the result:

Many people predicted a straight out fight between big spenders Chelsea and Manchester City before the season started and that’s exactly what seems to be falling into place. However, a loss for City could see them fall behind Chelsea by eight points, if the Blues win their match against Crystal Palace at the weekend. It is a tangible danger that despite it being the early stages, Jose Mourinho’s form side could run away with it. If City want to keep in touch and provide another title challenge, it could be argued this is a must win.

A win for Tottenham or even a draw would boost morale in the dressing room. It would give the manager confidence heading into a run of fixtures against lowly teams. They could go level with their opponents in second place and three points behind the leaders, although that is allowing for the game in hand. In the last few seasons form against the top four has been terrible, so a result of any kind could propel the club into an excellent position come Christmas time.

Final Prediction: Manchester City 1 Tottenham 1 

Many people are expecting a walkover in this game with the perception being that Pellegrini’s side will return to form and larrup the visitors. However, I think it will be a much more even contest with both sides possessing staunch opposition at the back and also a lot of danger up top. I can’t see either side keeping a clean sheet nor running away with it. (If the teams don’t return to some of their poorer early season form.)

Spain, the back-to-back European Championship winners and current holders of the FIFA World Cup, have been unbeatable. Their attractive style of play encompasses a combination of passing the opposition to death whilst constantly pressing the opposition, and starving them of any attacking impetus. However, they are starting to show signs of mortality after they laboured until the final of their second continental victory, received a crushing three- nil defeat to Brazil and suffered a nervy penalty shoot-out win against Cesare Prandelli’s Italy to get there. As the utter dominance of Spain begins to fade, Let’s look at the national side that could be their successors as the next monarchs of world soccer.

Perennial underperformers, Belgium have been poor in recent years with their national side having not qualified for a major tournament since the 2002 World Cup. Their success has matched the size of their country and not the soccer tradition that was created by their golden teams in the 1980’s and 90’s that came second in Euro 1980 and fourth in the 1986 World Cup. However, it seems the tide has now begun to turn, with dozens of incredible players coming out of the Flemish country of late. The vast majority are now plying their honed craft in the English Premier League.

Marouane Fellaini and Christian Benteke have been cultured in sterling academies such as Standard Liege and Genk, while many others learned their trade abroad, moving to far flung European academies at tender ages to pursue a career at a higher standard of sporting prowess. Those players include Jan Vertonghen, Moussa Dembele and Nacer Chadli, who all moved to the Netherlands. Vertonghen and Dembele were both tutored at arguably the most prestigious academy of world football other than Barcelona’s La Masia academy — Ajax. Interestingly Johann Cruyff played a huge part in the current set up of both academies. Others players such as Eden Hazard and Thibaut Courtois were instructed in France, England and Spain.

There must also be a degree of luck or destiny in the coming together of so many a sublime and athletic players currently vying for a place in the starting 11 with a world-class crop of Chadli, Romelu Lukaku, Kevin Mirallas, Dries Mertens and Bayern Munich veteran Daniel van Buyten regularly warming the bench.

In goal they have an embarrassment of riches with La Liga goalkeeper of the year Thibaut Courtois, who some see as the best goalkeeping prospect in the world. Whilst, experienced Premier League goalkeeper and recently instated Kop hero Simon Mignolet is another option. The defence also have the potential to be watertight with arguably the best defensive playing staff in international football in front of these two shot-stoppers. The strength and class of Tottenham and Manchester City’s indispensable centre halves Vertonghen and Kompany is crucial alongside let back and Arsenal captain Vermaelan and instrumental Ajax defender Toby Alderweirald. In midfield the quality and style of play is dictated by the irrepressible trickery and guile of Chelsea duo Hazard and Kevin De Bruyne, the power of Witsel, and smoothness of Dembele. Finally, up top they have three of the most sought after players of this window in the awe-inspiring potency of Benteke, Lukaku and Porto striker Mertens.

In the world rankings, Belgium is ranked the tenth best team in the world. However, you cannot read too much into this, as they have not been in any major tournaments recently. Their rebuild was started after dismal failed qualifying rounds for the 2006, 2008 and 2010 World Cups), and this process has slightly skewed their ranking. They also now look certain to qualify into the World Cup as they sit top of their group, three points clear of second placed Croatia while Serbia in third place are an insurmountable distance away.

This success doesn’t show any sign of stopping, with victories for the Belgian U19’s over England, Portugal and Croatia in the U19 European Championships. This team featured names such as Thorgan Hazard (Chelsea) and Paul-José Mpoku (Tottenham Hotspur).

Next year in Brazil, it may be a good idea to fly the flag for the Flemish country in 2014 as many of their more accomplished players are in the Premier League. It may be as close as we ever get to a home side winning the World Cup.

Marc Wilmots’s side will very much be the dark horses of this competition. They have a brilliant first team squad that oozes class and technical ability and strength in depth that other nations can only envy. They have a team of leaders, experience, physicality and skill.

However, it may be argued that Belgium is yet to be tested in a big tournament. Understandably, Belgium isn’t as fancied as the traditional heavyweights that are favorites: Brazil, Germany, Spain, Italy, etc. This may point to an improved squad at FIFA World Cup 2018 due to the strength in depth as well as the youth of the current squad is in their favor.  Perhaps if they fail in Rio, Russia will await them with open arms. However, one thing is certain; they will be a dominant force in the world of football in the near future.

The nascent potential within the squad is undeniable and the escalating domestic club experiences may cancel out any doubts over international experience. It is worth remembering that anything can happen in a cup competition… except England winning a penalty shoot-out!