Korea set to shock Argentina
South Korean
players believe they have a chance of victory in Thursday’s game
against Argentina, with Manchester United midfielder, Park Ji-Sung,
insisting they are capable of causing an upset against the South
Americans.
Park, who was the
man-of-the-match against the Greeks, said his side have nothing to fear
if they can play with the same intensity they produced against the
Greeks in last Saturday’s 2-0 win.
“Argentina are the
best team in our group, but if we play as a team like we did (against
Greece), we’re capable of getting a result,” said Park, whose views
were backed by the team’s coach, Jung-Moo Huh.
Huh, who participated at Mexico 1986 as a player where he faced Diego Maradona, his rival in the dugout on Thursday, said:
“We’ll give it our best shot, because my players can only grow in stature against opponents of their calibre.
“Argentina are
among the favourites, but we have good players, too. In football, the
lesser teams are always capable of beating the bigger ones,” said the
55-year-old.
Stopping Messi
On Thursday, the
Koreans will be up against Argentine superstar, Lionel Messi, who
proved more than a handful for Nigeria’s defence in their opening game.
The current world
player of the year is someone who is capable of deciding the outcome of
matches all by himself and reports suggest that Huh, who used a 4-4-2
formation in the game against the Greeks, will switch to a more
defensive 4-2-3-1 line-up when his side face Messi and company on
Thursday.
With only Chu-Young Park expected to be up front against Argentina, it is obvious the emphasis will be on stopping Messi.
“We are scared of
Messi. We think that the only way to stop him is breaking his leg,”
joked South Korean goalkeeper, Sung-Ryoung Jung, in anticipation of
facing the Barcelona star.
Huh, on the other hand, invoked the story in the Bible of David and Goliath in giving his team a fighting chance.
“We all know what the bible says, and who fell. If we can defend
well, we do not have to give up the match as a lost cause,” said Huh.
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