South Korea vs Iraq – From The Stands Asian Cup – Semi Final Preview
Sydney is to play host to the first Semi-Final for the Asian Cup with South Korea facing a spirited Iraq outfit on Australia day. Both sides come into the match having needed extra time against their respective opponents in the quarter final and are sure to be well matched.
The winner of Group A was supposed to get the easier side of the draw. Those expectations however were blown out of the water as a confident Uzbekistan side pushed South Korea right to the edge. Courtesy of Son Heung-min however they managed to score two goals in extra time to dispose of the opposition. Leading into the match the Koreans we’re full of confidence having beat Australia in the final group stage game and topped the group. However, they probably would’ve expected to be facing the Iranians in this fixture and that combined with the recent upsets in this competition made this a trickier prospect.
They face the surprise packets of this competition. Iraq will be full of confidence but perhaps a tad weary leading into this contest. Having come 2nd in group d behind then tournament favorites Japan, they were heavy underdogs in the quarter final against Iran. However strange things happen in knockout football and they managed to knock out their arch rivals in a penalty shootout. Although that wasn’t the best performance particularly against ten men, they will only grow in confidence in a game where once again they find themselves considered underdogs.
Player of the Tournament
South Korea: Ki Sung-yueng is the obvious Korean choice for their best player. The classy midfielder basically runs the show in the middle of the park. Basically behind everything they do as a team, pressing in defence to win the ball back, starting counter attacks and keeping the ball moving while in possession.
Iraq: Younus Mahmood has been the best player this tournament for Iraq. The veteran striker who is without a club seems to just pop up and find the net when his nation needs him. That includes a classy diving header against Iran in extra time in the quarters.
Highlight of the Tournament
South Korea will look to the victory over the host nation as their highlight. They managed to comfortably beat a weakened Socceroos outfit in Brisbane and with the likes of Japan and Iran out of the tournament, they will feel confident in taking home some silverware.
Iraq. What was not to love about Iraq’s victory over Iran last Friday night? It was fairytale stuff with Iraq disposing of their arch rivals for the first time in 24 years. However they did need a penalty shootout to do so having given away two extra time leads against a ten man Iran.
Fixture history (head to head)
Played: 1. South Korea: 0. Drawn: 0. Iraq: 1.
Probable XI:
South Korea
Kim Jin-Hyeon
Kim Chang-Soo – Kim Jin-su – Kim Young-Gwon – Kwak Tae-Hwi
Ki Sung-yueng – Lee Keun-Ho
Nam Tae-Hee – Park-Joo-ho – Son Heung-min
Jung-Hyub Lee
Iraq
Jalal Hassan Hachim
Ahmad Ibrahim – Ahmad Yasin – Alaa Abdul-Zahra Khashan – Dhurgham Ismail
Justin Meram – Saad Abdul-Amir
Salam Shaker – Walid Salim – Yaser Kasim
Younis Mahmoud
Prediction: South Korea to be just a bit too classy and outplay a tired Iraq. 2-0.
FTS Fact: These teams have played only once before in 2007 and the winner, Iraq, won the Asian Cup following the victory.
