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| Korean players dribble in a practice session at the Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso in Cuiaba, Brazil. / Yonhap |
Son Heung-min captures Team Korea's spirit against Russia
By Han June
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"I will play as if the match is a matter of life and death," he said in a media interview Sunday.
No less than this will enable the 57th-ranked Korea to beat the 19th-ranked Russian team.
Ki Sung-yueng, a 25-year-old Swansea City midfielder, had the same "no-holds-barred" approach.
"It is important to arm ourselves with a fighting spirit so that we can give all we have to the match," he said.
The two were among Korean players who talked to reporters during a 15-minute media session.
In contrast to Ki and Son, Bolton Wanderers winger Lee Chung-yong was more purpose-oriented, saying, "We have focused on building a natural offense through mini games."
For the past three days, national coach Hong Myung-bo has allowed no outsiders into the team's training camp.
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| Russian footballers play handball at the Estadio Novelli Jr. stadium in Itu, Monday, two days before their matchup on Wednesday at 7 a.m. (KST). / Yonhap |
After arriving here, the site of the Korea-Russia match, the team trained at Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso, while getting used to the hot climate.
Temperatures go up to 32 degrees Celsius.
At 6 p.m., the local kickoff time for the match, the temperature is expected to fall to around 27 degrees, with humidity hovering at around 80 percent.
Theoretically, that should pose more of a challenge to the Russians, who are more accustomed to lower temperatures and dry weather.
Koreans are no stranger to hot, humid weather. Plus, the stopover in Miami, a subtropical city, should help them. Of course, they are secondary factors, but in the World Cup even the smallest things can make a difference.
Despite heavy rain, Hong continued a training session in order to prepare his men against variables such as a sudden change in the weather.
Team Korea members have often showed playfulness, but they now appear more serious.
As the Koreans arrived at Cuiaba a day earlier than the Russians, the Koreans earned one more day to adapt to Cuiaba's muggy climate. That also might be a positive sign for the Koreans.
"Russian players may have trouble adapting to Cuiaba's weather," said defender Lee Yong.
Weather will not be the sole factor deciding the match's result, but it can surely affect players' stamina, especially late in the game.
