South Korea v Germany: Champions to make the most of second chance
After narrow defeats to Mexico and Sweden, South Korea coach Shin Tae-yong summed up his team’s situation neatly, describing them as”a drowning man clutching at a straw.” The late heroics of Germany’s Toni Kroos against Sweden spared Shin’s side the ignominy of elimination using a match to spare, but only a win on Wednesday afternoon and also a victory for Mexico against Sweden provides them any prospect of advancement.
Although South Korea have been competitive in the handle and willing to cover plenty of ground, they’ve struggled to create any attacking effort. A stunning late strike from a mostly isolated Son Heung-min against Mexico has become the sum total of the offensive efforts so far, and they didn’t even manage a shot on target within their Group F opener from Sweden.
Opta tell us that South Korea have lost their last four games at World Cup finals. Additionally, it is worth noting that they have dropped their past two World Cup games against Germany, a set game in 1994 along with also the semi-final in 2002.
South Korea’s cause won’t be helped by skipper Ki Sung-yeung’s loss to injury, and Park Joo-ho is still sidelined. Shin must find a way to get Tottenham forwards Son more support in assault – he had eight shots against Mexico, and taken the whole offensive burden on his shoulders.
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