South Korea's quest to end a 55-year title drought at the AFC Asian Cup will enter the knockout phase this week, as the country prepares to take on Uzbekistan in the quarterfinals.
The kickoff at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium between the 69th-ranked South Korea and 71st-ranked Uzbekistan will be at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, or 4:30 p.m. in Seoul.
South Korea had the top seed in Group A with three 1-0 victories over Oman, Kuwait and host Australia. Uzbekistan finished second in Group B behind China, after beating North Korea and Saudi Arabia, and losing to China. Uzbekistan scored five goals and gave up three.
South Korea has eight wins, one loss and two draws against Uzbekistan so far, but has had some trouble in recent matches.
During the Asian qualification for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, South Korea was held to a 2-2 draw on the road in September 2012, and then eked out a 1-0 win at home in June 2013 on an own goal by Uzbekistan.
Coached by Uli Stielike, South Korea has lost two players from its original 23-man roster to injuries. Midfielder Lee Chung-yong suffered a leg fracture in the opener against Oman while another midfielder, Koo Ja-cheol, tore a ligament in his right elbow in a fall during the group finale against Australia.
Some other players had bouts of cold that kept them out of the lineup against Kuwait. Stielike has been forced to juggle his lineup, and third-string goalkeeper Jung Sung-ryong remains the only player who has yet to take the field at the tournament so far.
Winger Son Heung-min was one of the sick players last week. He came off the bench against Australia, and will need to pick up the slack with both Lee and Koo, his usual partners on the secondary line of attack, out of the picture.
Nam Tae-hee, who scored the winner against Kuwait as an injury replacement for Lee, will likely see more time, either in Lee's usual spot on the right wing or in the attacking midfielder position that Koo used to occupy.
Forward Lee Jeong-hyeop has come out of nowhere to emerge as South Korea's primary option up front. Playing for the national team for the first time in his fledgling career, the 23-year-old has scored twice in four international matches, including the winner over Australia.
Stielike has doled out different defensive pairings for each of the first three matches at the tournament -- partially by design and partially because of injuries -- he may yet do so again Thursday. Left fullback Kim Jin-su has been the only constant, having started all three matches. There has been a revolving door for center backs, with Jang Hyun-soo, Kim Young-gwon, Kwak Tae-hwi and Kim Ju-young all having seen action with mixed results.
Though South Korea's defense has been spotty, Stielike has repeatedly pointed out that the team has yet to allow a goal in the tournament.
Uzbekistan head coach Mirdjalal Kasimov has already "promised" to beat South Korea. Two of his players, Server Djeparov and Timur Kapadze, have had some connection with Korean football. Djeparov, the Uzbekistan captain, is a midfielder for Seongnam FC in the K League Classic, the top division in South Korea. Kapadze has played for Incheon United, also in the K League Classic.
The winner of the quarterfinals match will travel to Sydney for the semifinals on Monday. (Yonhap)
