South Korea, Iran set
for semis showdown
Alastair Himmer
Hosts South Korea will hope to go one better than they did at the World Cup when they take on defending champions Iran in the pick of the Asian Games football semi-finals on Thursday.
Japan, who have reached the last four for the first time since the 1970 Bangkok Games, will be confident of ending the interest of plucky Thailand in the other semi-final.
Even though five of the South Korea squad that reached the semi-finals of the World Cup have been selected for the Asian Games under-23 tournament the home team have yet to hit their stride.
They were unconvincing in first-round wins over the Maldives (4-0), Oman (5-2) and Malaysia (4-0) and needed a first-half penalty from captain Lee Dong-gook to beat Bahrain in the quarter-finals on Tuesday.
Iran, who are aiming for a fourth Asian Games title, will be a different proposition, even without experienced striker Ali Daei, who flew home before their 1-0 quarter-final win over Kuwait after the death of his father.
South Korea coach Park Hang-seo, who took over from Dutchman Guus Hiddink after their historic run to the World Cup semi-finals, is under no illusions about the difficulty of the task facing his side.
"We only have one day to rest before the semi-final and obviously Iran are a very good team, so it will be a real test," said Park. "Iran have quality players but we are not a bad team either."
He added: "Both teams will be tired, so it will be down to who concentrates better and who wants it more."
Park singled out midfielder Park Ji-sung, who joined the squad from Japanese club Kyoto Purple Sanga before the quarter-final, as a potential match-winner for South Korea in Pusan.
CALMING INFLUENCE
"He had less than one day's rest (since arriving from Japan) but he played a big part in getting us to the semi-finals," he said. "He was a bit tired, but he is the sort of player who provides a calming influence for the team."
Park, who scored arguably the goal of the tournament to knock Portugal out of the World Cup, was a constant threat against Bahrain and could prove even more influential against Iran given an extra day of training with the team.
As during the World Cup, when they were granted exemption from military service, the South Korean players have the same incentive this time, provided they actually win the Asian Games title.
However, Iran will have other ideas, despite failing to impress against Kuwait, settled by a superb free-kick from midfielder Eman Mobali.
Japan, who have brought their under-21 team to South Korea, have never won the Asian Games gold medal but will be on a high after beating China 1-0 in the quarter-finals courtesy of a 61st minute winner from striker Satoshi Nakayama.
Thailand, coached by former Aston Villa striker Peter Withe, beat North Korea 1-0 in the last eight to keep up their impressive run through the tournament.
Any kind of medal would be a huge achievement for the Thais but they should find that Japan have a little too much tactical know-how in their semi-final at Ulsan's World Cup stadium.
