Match Previews

Changed their formation just before the tournament, which seem to have destabilised the harmony. Opening game is crucial in terms of their chances of making the knockouts. Struggling for goals. M.-j. Kim, K.-h. Lee, J.-s. Kim, K.-h. Yeom, C.-h. Kwon and K.-y. Han sidelined.

After securing place in the World Cup the Korean manager Tae-yong Shin tinkered with the formation in the friendlies played in 2018, he experimented with three at the back in five of the six matches played this calendar year, but after losing four of these fixtures and winning only against minions Honduras South Korea are unlikely to stick with this system for their opening match.

Injury issues unsettled the forward actions and the Koreans scored a single goal in their most recent three matches that saw them losing 1:3 vs. Bosnia, drawing 0:0 with Bolivia and losing 0:2 against Senegal.

All of M.-j. Kim, Yeom, Han, Lee, J.-s. Kim and Kwon will be absent from the tournament through injuries, with the last three regular starters when available. Kwon was the main assist provider during the qualifiers, while Lee has been the main centre forward of the team for the past 3 years.

After failing with his experiments the gaffer is likely to start the World Cup using 4-4-2 formation, this will match Sweden’s system, in which Tottenham’s winger Son is expected to play as a striker.

Experienced winger Ja-Cheol Koo, played in the Bundesliga for the past four years, could be Korea’s main weapon off the bench.

Desperate to stop six-game winless run at World Cups. However, it must be mentioned that Korea’s last two wins in these tournaments were in their opening matches of the 2006 and 2010 competitions when Togo and Greece were edged.