Korea head coach Hong Myung-bo ( London Olympic Joint Press Corps)
For long-time Asian rivals Korea and Japan, winning the Olympic bronze medal soccer match in Cardiff on Saturday could be worth more than most.
Both are dominant teams in Asia in a sport that has shone more often in the Americas and Europe.
However, both teams will need much time to recuperate both mentally and physically after suffering equally devastating losses for what media here have been calling an “epic battle.”
“I will use the rest of the time we have to prepare the players mentally and physically so that they may win against Japan,” said Korean Olympic team coach Hong Myung-bo.
However, Korea needs to step up its game for a chance to take home its first medal in soccer.
Korea will first have to up the ante in both attack and defense. Over the course of the Olympics, Japan has netted six goals while allowing only three. On the other hand, Korea has only scored three times while letting in five goals.
The data also shows that Japan has had a better shot on target rate than Korea during the Games. Japan has had 20 shots on goal out of 63 while Korea only has had 17 on goal out of 70 shots.
There are also concerns that Korea is still physically jaded after spending 120 minutes on the pitch against Britain.
And to add to the pressure, historically both countries have matched each other equally.
The Korean Olympic team has four wins, four losses and four draws against the neighboring nation.
This will also be the first time in 44 years that an Olympic medal in football will go to an Asian country. Japan took home bronze in 1968.
Korea has qualified for the Olympics nine times but has yet to take home a medal in the event.
By Robert Lee (robert@heraldm.com)
koreaherald@heraldcorp.com
