Doha: FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 marks South Korea's 10th straight appearance in the worlds most prestigious championship. However, being drawn in a tough group - Group H, they face a challenge to reach the last-16.
Falling with Portugal, Ghana and Uruguay in the group, the Taegeuk Warriors will definitely struggle to end their run of poor results over the past four world cup editions where they never qualified for the knockout stage.
Portugal are the favorites to top the group, leaving the other three teams vying for second place.
South Korea has a balanced record against African teams. They defeated Togo in 2006, drew with Nigeria in 2010, but lost 2-4 to Algeria in 2014.
So, it is expected that their clash against Uruguay will be decisive for both sides amid expectations for the two to lose to Portugal.
As for the match with Portugal, a South Korean loss is widely expected. Yet, everything remains possible, and the Taegeuk Warriors might repeat their 2002 win over Portugal.
This mainly depends on South Koreas ability to overcome World Cup-related pressures, and manager Paulo Bentos ability to motivate his players amid tough matches against teams with outstanding World Cup history.
The Portuguese relies on a host of veteran players, most notably Tottenham Hotspur striker Son Heung-min, one of the most prominent South Korean players, along with the trio Hwang Hee Chan, and Ui-jo Hwang.
The Taegeuk Warriors are mainly known for ball possession and exploiting space, mostly on the wings. This was the tactic adopted throughout the AFC World Cup qualifiers.
South Korea will kick off their world cup campaign against Uruguay on Nov. 24, then Ghana on November 28 and Portugal on December 2, with all matches played at Education City Stadium.
During the championship, they will stay at the Le Meridien Doha Hotel, West Bay. Al Egla Training site 5 was chosen as their training venue.
In their AFC world cup qualifiers campaign, South Korea led their group in the second round with 16 points from five wins and a single draw. The group included Lebanon, Turkmenistan, Sri Lanka and North Korea. The latter withdrew later from the qualifiers.
In the third round, South Korea qualified after finishing second in Group A with 23 points from seven victories, two draws, and a single defeat.
South Korea was the first Asian team to play in the World Cup. They first featured in Switzerland in 1954. They lost 0-9 and 0-7 to Hungary and Turkey respectively.
Three decades later, they reappeared in FIFA World Cup Mexico 1986. Since then, they never missed any world cup edition.
Over their 10 world cup participations, South Koreas most notable achievement was in 2002 when they finished fourth. Under Dutch coach Guus Hiddink, they lost 2-3 to Turkey in the third-place playoff.
Their second-best achievement was in 2010 in South Africa when they reached the last-16.
Of the 34 World Cup matches they played, South Korea won six times, drew nine matches, and lost 19 times. Their goal difference is -36.
On the continental level, they appeared in 14 AFC Cup finals. They won two trophies in 1956 and 1960. They were runners-up in 1972, 1980, 1988 and 2015. They claimed bronze in 1964, 2000, 2007 and 2011.
The two-time AFC Cup holders played 67 matches, with 36 wins, 16 draws, and 15 defeats, and +32 goal difference.
Over their long footballing history, Cha Bum-kun remains South Koreas most prominent footballer with 138 international caps. He is also the all-time leading goal scorer with 58 goals.
Hong Myung-bo was another icon player with four consecutive World Cup championships (1990, 1994, 1998 and 2002).
Nicknamed as the "Three Lungs", Park Ji-sung remains an outstanding South Korean player. He is the most successful Asian player in football history with 19 trophies.
The former Arsenal and Monaco forward Park Chu-Young is another iconic South Korean footballer with 68 international caps and 24 goals.
The current generation expected to shine in Qatar includes Tottenham striker Son Heung-min, Kim Jun-bon of Osaka, Hwang Hee-chan, who plays for Wolverhampton, and striker Hwang Ui-Jo Hwang of Bordeaux, France.
Source: QNA
