Koreas Paired in Draw

By Kim Tong-hyung

Staff Reporter

South Korea has been given another easy group in its campaign for the 2010 World Cup. Now, only if the Korean Football Association (KFA) can get around to appointing a manager.

South Korea, looking for its seventh consecutive World Cup berth, was placed alongside North Korea, Jordan and Turkmenistan in Group 4 in the third stage of the Asian qualifying rounds in Sunday's draw in Durban, South Africa.

The top two teams in each of the five groups will advance to the fourth and final round of qualifiers, where they will be drawn into two groups of five with the top two teams punching their tickets to South Africa.

The Taeguk Warriors should approach their group with confidence, avoiding difficult foes, such as Iran, Qatar and China, while drawing nations from the scrap heap of international football.

However, the inevitable trip to Pyongyang and its massive Kim Il-sung Stadium is somewhat of a daunting thought, as the South Koreans may find themselves in an awkward position to sever the World Cup hopes for the one regional rival they are supposed to feel sorry about.

Australia, China, Iraq and Qatar are cast in Asia's toughest pool in Group 1, with a potential grudge match developing between the Socceroos and their Asian Cup nemesis Iraq, led by a strike force of Younis Mahmoud and Mahdi Karim that just might be the region's finest.

Japan isn't exactly expected to sashay through Bahrain, Oman and Thailand in Group 2, while Iran awaits tough tests against Syria, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Kuwait in Group E.

So Whose the Coach?

It would certainly be a big deal if South Korea fails to win any of its matches in round three, although North Korea's 20-year-old attacker Jong Chul-min and frontline partner Pak Chul-min will try to make things interesting, as will Jordan's Mohamed Shelbayah and Hassouneh Al-Sheikh.

However, it could be argued that South Korea might be its own worst obstacle in booking a spot in South Africa, with the dearth of talent, especially among attackers, becoming apparent.

Most of the players from South Korea's ``golden generation,'' which led the country's impressive World Cup showing in 2002, are now past their primes, and it's becoming clear that the new squad is not as good as the previous one.