Road to Rio: South Korea expects success

Dignitaries from all over the world will gather in Brazil in early December for the FIFA World Cup draw as the field of teams is divided into groups for next summer’s festivities. As part of its "32 teams in 32 days" series, SPORTSNET.CA will profile each of the nations set to compete at Brazil, leading up the draw on Dec. 6.

The gold standard of Asian soccer, South Korea qualified for its eighth consecutive World Cup and will head to Brazil with plenty of expectations from a feverish fan base that has become accustomed to success over the last decade. Prior to co-hosting the tournament in 2002, mere qualification was seen as a major accomplishment. That’s not the case anymore. Since the Red Devils’ surprising fourth place finish on home soil, the three match bare minimum of the group phase is unacceptable – the bar has been raised, and anything short of a spot in the second round would be seen as a catastrophic failure.

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How they got here: It wasn’t smooth sailing, as South Korea suffered a demoralizing 1-0 home defeat to group winners Iran in Ulsan on the final day of qualifying, which lead to the resignation of manager Choi Kang-Hee, who boldly guaranteed a victory at all costs. The South Koreans crawled across the finish line in second spot – tied on points (14) with third-place Uzbekistan – via the goal difference rule.

Key result: Considering how the group standings turned out, the 1-0 victory over Uzbekistan in Ulsan on the second-last match-day was the ultimate decider, and gave South Korea the crucial trump card heading into their final fixture. The Red Devils should send Uzbek defender Akmal Shorakhmedov a gift basket for the own goal scored that ended up being the match-winner.

Star player: Kim Bo-Kyung has quickly risen through the ranks to become one of the first names on the team sheet for club and country. The Cardiff City midfielder was a key component for South Korea’s bronze medal Olympic side in London, and was named to the team of the tournament. But nothing holds more weight than being given the vote of confidence by one of the country’s legendary stars, with Park Ji-sung naming him as his successor.

Player on the bubble: The managerial merry-go-round happening at Sunderland could negatively impact forward Ji Dong-Won’s chances for a spot on Hong Myung-Bo’s final roster. Won has played sporadically throughout the early part of the season under former manager Paolo Di Canio, and he has yet to even make the bench under Gus Poyet.

Team strengths: Speed, speed and more speed. South Korea has a plethora of young and energetic talent that can be tough handle. Small, agile and technically gifted, the Red Devils are menacing down the wings.

What they have to work on: Despite only conceding 11 goals in 14 qualifying matches (two rounds), their opposition in Brazil will be at a much higher standard than the likes of Lebanon and Qatar. The Koreans must improve defensively and stay compact, which has proven difficult given their attack-minded approach.

World Cup history