.jpg) Members of the South Korean Olympic squad train Tuesday (KST) at the Prince Mohammed Stadium in Zarqu, Jordan, ahead of the second-leg of their Asian qualifier in Ammam for the London 2012 Games at midnight Thursday. / Yonhap |
By Yoon Chul
South Korea’s under-23 team will play the away leg of the Asian Olympic qualifier against Jordan at the Amman International Stadium at midnight Thursday, Korean time.
The young Taegeuk Warriors managed by Hong Myung-bo are in a strong position after beating Jordan 3-1 in the home leg on Sunday. The winner will advance to the final qualifying round for the London 2012 Olympics. Korea is looking to appear at the seventh consecutive Summer Games.
Despite its lead the Korean squad would be knocked out on away goals if Jordan records a 2-0 win. However, Korea would leave its opponent a mountain to climb if it could find an early goal.
“I will not change the tactics. As we have done we will prove ourselves at their ground,“ Hong said.
The team headed to Jordan as soon as the first game at Seoul World Cup stadium ended to try and acclimatize to the conditions there, as the game will be played 900-meters above sea level.
Hong plans to use the same 4-2-3-1 formation he did in the first leg. Kim Dong-sub will likely partner forward Ji Dong-won, who is very close to agreeing to a move to English Premier League side Sunderland, instead of Bae Chun-suk.
Kim scored the third goal in Seoul.
The manager has also ordered players to be wary of giving away free kicks.
“Our boss reminded us of the opposition’s set plays,” captain Hong Jeong-ho said. Referees in the Middle East have been known to call fouls on away sides for seemingly minimal contact and set pieces given away in dangerous areas could pose a real threat.
Jordan needs goals if it is to have any chance of advancing and the focus will be on offense rather than defense, possibly giving chances for Korea to hit on the counterattack.
In the first leg Jordan packed their defense and kept men behind the ball, often not venturing too far forward. But after Jordan conceded the lead in the middle of the second half, they were forced to attack and this left space for Korea to exploit for the third goal.
The Korean captain, who set up Jordan’s goal with a mistimed pass in Seoul, emphasized the importance of scoring first in the return fixture.
“In a road game, we will not concede the first goal (of the game). If we allow Jordan to score, the game will be much tougher for us,” Hong said.
The Korean team has to take a one-hour bus ride from its accommodation to the training ground. And the pitch there is in bad condition.
The winner of this game will enter the final Asian round of Olympic qualifying.
The final 12 teams will be divided into three groups for a round-robin competition with the winner of each group booking a spot in London.
The runner-up of each group will go to a playoff and the winner will have to take on an African team in order to qualify.
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