Taeguk Warriors Ready to Face Iran
By Kim Jae-won
Staff Reporter
The South Korean national football team is gearing up for a date with Iran after wrapping up a two week-long training camp on Jeju Island Friday.
The East Asian team will meet Iran in a 2010 World Cup qualifier in Teheran Feb. 11.
Headman Huh Jung-moo plans to call in his players at the National Football Center (NFC) in Paju on Jan. 28 and leave for the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Huh's team, which is 2-1-0 with seven points, is ranked first in the final qualification group, followed by the Middle East team by two.
The Taeguk Warriors seek a seventh-straight World Cup appearance.
In World Cup history, only six other countries have advanced to the World Cup final six times in a row ― Brazil, Germany, Italy, Argentina, Spain and South Korea.
``We will try to reach the final round of the World Cup this year for the further development of Korean football," goalkeeper Lee Woon-jae said.
During their camp, the national team started with a climb up Seongsan Sunrise Peak. They tried to climb Mt. Halla, the highest peak in the country, but cancelled due to weather conditions.
Huh, 54, is not quite satisfied with the training. He planned to train his team for a real game but focused on physical training in the first week because not many players were ready.
But, the set-piece performance is a big success of the training.
``It is a good sign that players are getting used to making set-piece chances," the boss said.
The team scored two goals in a game with Ulsan Wednesday.
The young players gave a solid performance. Lee Keun-ho scored three goals in two games and may play as one of two top strikers.
Lee Chung-yong also had two goals and one assist in a game against Soongsil University. Ki Sung-yueng is another dark horse. He netted one goal and set up one assist in two games.
The final aspect of training is announcing the squad.
"I will announce the squad when we go back to Seoul," Huh said during practice.