Korea faces uphill climb to grab knockout berth in Qatar
Korean players take part in a training session ahead of the FIFA World Cup at Al Egla Training Facility in Doha on Nov. 16. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk
Korea will be playing in their 10th consecutive FIFA World Cup this month in Qatar, an impressive streak matched by few others.
Not every tournament during this run has been memorable for South Korea, though. Of course, there was the improbable run to the semifinals in 2002, when South Korea co-hosted the tournament with Japan. But there was also the disappointing early exit from the group stage in 2014 in Brazil, where Korea had one draw and two losses, including a 4-2 defeat to an Algerian team that the Taegeuk Warriors had earlier considered the one beatable team in their group.
Where will Korea's performance at this year's World Cup fall?
Their pursuit of only their third trip to the knockout phase begins next Thursday against Uruguay, the first Group H match for both countries.
Korea will then play Ghana on Nov. 28 and Portugal on Dec. 2.
Portugal, at No. 9, are the highest-ranked team in Group H, followed by Uruguay at No. 14, South Korea at No. 28 and Ghana at No. 61.
An optimist may say South Korea should have at least a fighting chance to make it out of Group H. But none of the teams will be a pushover.
Portugal may not be in the same class as title favorites, such as Brazil, Argentina or France, but they still feature one of the all-time greats in Cristiano Ronaldo, and rising stars in Federico Valverde, Darwin Nunez and Rodrigo Bentancur.
Ghana are one of the lowest-ranked contestants in the entire tournament, a team that South Korea should be able to beat on paper. But the Ghana team that went through the African qualifying won't be the same team in this tournament. They have selected foreign-born players of Ghanaian descent for the World Cup, such as Inaki Williams and Tariq Lamptey, and they looked impressive beating 15th-ranked Switzerland 2-0 in a tuneup match Thursday.
Korean captain Son Heung-min, center, trains wearing a protective mask at Al Egla Training Facility in Doha on Nov. 16 in preparation for the FIFA World Cup. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk
Korea's unprecedented level of coaching stability and continuity could be a double-edged sword.
Head coach Paulo Bento has been at the helm since the fall of 2018. He's the longest-serving national team head coach in South Korean football, and players have spoken openly about how the continuity of having the same bench boss for the entire four-year buildup from one World Cup to the next has laid a strong foundation for success in Qatar.
On the flip side, as steady as Bento has been, the coach has also been reluctant to switch things up strategically. He has rarely deviated from his buildup schemes, where Korea try to maintain ball possession edge and take their sweet time mounting an attack from the back. And Bento has kept his core group of players mostly intact, leaving little room for shot-in-the-arm type of changes to keep usual suspects on their toes.
It remains to be seen if the buildup tactics, which worked to varying degrees of success against inferior teams during the Asian qualification, will also be effective against teams such as Portugal and Uruguay, who will likely dominate ball possession against South Korea.
Korea's fate will hinge on the health of their captain, Son Heung-min, who is in a race against time after undergoing surgery to repair fractures around his left eye. Son suffered the injury on Nov. 1 during a UEFA Champions League match and had the procedure three days later. He has been training here with a carbon protective mask but was a limited participant for his first three days here. (Yonhap)