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World Cup Qualifiers: March Madness

Soccerphile's John Duerden reports.

Just like seven other Asian nations, the last week of March 2005 will be a vital one for South Korea.

Two games in five days at opposite ends of the vast Asian continent will go a long way to deciding which teams from Asia will travel to Germany in 2006 and which nations' players will be able to relax in front of their television sets.

The eight have been split into two groups with the top two in each automatically qualifying for the biggest event in the world's biggest game.

The two-third placed nations will play each other will the winner facing the fourth placed team from North and Central America for the last half a spot.

It is no secret in Asia that South Korea has failed to reach the heights of 2002 but considering the scale of those achievements that is hardly surprising. A failure in the 2004 Asian Cup was sandwiched by unimpressive results in the first stage of world cup qualifying.

A run of dismal friendlies saw the start of the second stage of qualifying greeted glumly by Korean fans although missing their first world cup since 1982 has barely been considered in the southern half of the peninsula.

However, coach Jo Bonfrere knows that qualification is expected as is an improvement in performances.

The Dutchman can have few excuses if things don't go to plan as he can call on virtually a full squad with only Ahn Jung-hwan being unavailable for selection. It is debatable if the hero of the 2002 competition would get the chance to help his country reach the 2006 version as he hasn't been an automatic choice when fit.

Lee Dong-guk is Bonfrere's preferred striker and with the striker's recent scoring record of seven goals in six games, it is difficult to argue with the former coach of Nigeria.

Maybe the most important of the haul was Lee's stunning volley that gave his team the perfect start in the opening second stage qualifier with Kuwait.

South Korea were never in danger from that moment on and a comfortable 2-0 victory was the result. The 26 year-old still misses more chances than he converts and is getting a reputation for scoring great goals and missing the simple tap-ins. The fact that he missed two much easier chances subsequent to his opening goal at Seoul's World Cup Stadium supports such a theory.

Bonfrere will be encouraged by news from his homeland of two of Korea's most successful exports, Park Ji-sung and Lee Young-pyo, excelling for PSV Eindhoven. The Dutch giants, led by Guus Hiddink, have charged into the last eight of the champions league, a run in which the two Koreans have made vital contributions.

The pair also did so against Kuwait, combining well to set up Lee for the second goal which finally killed off any faint hopes that a poor Kuwaiti side had of getting anything from the game. Park is especially important to his country in the middle of the park and if the young playmaker performs well, then Korea does too.

Comfortable though the opening game was, a better performance will be necessary for the trip to Riyadh. Saudi Arabia, qualifiers for the last three world cups, collected a point from a tough opening fixture in Uzbekistan and will be hoping to build on that in the second game.

Coach Gabriel Calderon has enough world cup experience to know that the fate of the group will not be decided after the Riyadh meeting but will be desperate to avoid defeat at the hands of their East Asian rivals. Such an outcome, will probably put first spot out of the reach of the Saudis and will leave no leeway for any more slip-ups.

After the game, the Koreans will make the long trip back across the length of the continent in order to prepare for the visit of Uzbekistan. The Central Asians will face a similar trek after facing Kuwait in Kuwait City.

It's been over seven years since the two countries met during qualifying for the 1998 world cup, with Korea administering a sound 5-1 thrashing in Tashkent. Much has changed since then with the former Soviet republic climbing up to 48th in FIFA's rankings and a quarter-final appearance in last year's Asian Cup.

A last minute Anvas Soliev equalizer salvaged a point in the opening fixture for Uzbekistan's new coach Jurgen Gede. The German will make sure that his players know the importance of getting a result in Kuwait, five days before the fixture in Seoul's World Cup Stadium.

The coach will welcome back inspirational captain Mirdjalal Kasimov from injury and young striker Alexander Geynrikh from suspension. The two will have to be at their best to help their team-mates produce a result in Seoul.

Four points from the two fixtures will be an excellent return for the Koreans and will ensure that they maintain control at the top of the group and their excellent world cup qualifying record.

John Duerden

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