~World Cup~ I'm So Excited ~ Here's a taster — OZONE Asylum, home of the Mad Scientists

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~World Cup~ I'm So Excited ~ Here's a taster

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Your Text: Insert Slimies » Insert UBB Code » Close Last Tag \| All Tags UBB Help	Considering that the Saudis qualified ahead of Korea, you would think they'd be able to put up something of a fight. They looked really strong in qualification... [quote] [b]WebShaman said:[/b] I think Korea is in serious trouble. I said that Korea should have pressured France in the first half and it is looking more and more like that is going to come back and haunt the Koreans. In any regards, it sure is an exciting group, with everyone except Togo having a chance! I suspect that despite all the difficulties that France has, that they will defeat Togo especially in the state that it is in. That means that it will all come down to the Korea vs Swiss game.That is going to be one HELL of a game! I hope that Korea pulls it out and takes the group. That would be awesome. [/quote] I'm not sure where you get "serious trouble" from. Maybe that's what it looks like from elsewhere, but here things are going pretty much par for the course. In fact, we're doing better than a lot of people expected, what with the way we were playing friendlies right before the finals started. I was starting to wonder if we'd even manage to win. Also, and I don't know how many times I'm going to have to say this ;), but [b]Korea is not a strong first half team[/b]. Sure, it would have been nice if the boys had put more pressure on France in the first half and scored a goal, but it was not in the cards. The best result we could have hoped for, I think, would have been 0-0 at the half. The plan would have then been to wear out the French in the second half and score (which is pretty much what happened anyway). Why are Korea not a strong first half team? For one, they are not very fast. This means they are not going to get a lot of quick chances. They also have a tendency to break down completely on defense at times, which means that the focus in the early game is often on not giving up a goal. The lack of speed in general also plays a factor here, as Korea are not too good at flipping from defense to offense and going on a quick counterattack. Sure, they've got a few fast players, but the inability to transition well means that these players will often be stranded by themselves in the attacking end. Without support, the attack fizzles. Korea have also struggled with finishing power, which just adds to their woes in the first half. The reason they are stronger in the second half is primarily stamina. They don't get any quicker, but the opposing teams usually get slower. Also, they will usually bring in Ahn or some other star players with finishing power in the second half, and that's when the magic happens. Now I'm not saying that Korea can't score in the first half. They can, and they have. But more often than not they play a more defensive first half and go on the attack in the second half. It's kind of a rope-a-dope technique, actually. This is why, WS, I can't understand your assessment of the draw with France. With another team, yeah, early pressure would have probably been a good idea. But Korea against France? That's expecting too much. France outclass Korea in terms of skill by a pretty wide margin. The reason Korea can pull out victories or draws against significantly better teams is their stamina and their heart. There is a word we use a lot here: tuji. It means "fighting spirit," and the Koreans have a lot of it. That's why I was far more distressed by the Togo match than the France match. During the match with France, our boys never gave up. But in the last ten or fifteen minutes of the Togo match, they let up on the attack completely and just tried to protect their lead (and almost failing to do so in the process). Where did that fighting spirit go? They could have and should have scored at least one more goal. That lack of a third goal is the reason why Korea can't afford to draw against Switzerland right now. They did the best they could against France on that day, but they fell down against Togo. I was far happier with that draw then I was was with that win. Another thing: we always knew that it would come down to the match against Switzerland, and we always knew that we would have to win it. It certainly would have been nice to pull off an upset against France, but before the tournament no one even expected a draw. The common logic was: win against Togo, lose to France, and then put everything on the line against the Swiss. Like I said above, it always comes down to the wire here, so no one is either surprised or worried now. The Korean side improved significantly in the second match, and I don't think we're anywhere near being in serious trouble. That being said, I repeat: we cannot afford to give up an early goal against Switzerland. I won't give up hope if that happens, but it's going to be very difficult to come back against the Swiss defense, especially since we would need at least two goals. I would be satisfied with 0-0 at the half, ecstatic if Korea score first. We haven't yet seen Swiss play from a deficit, so it would be interesting to see what would happen. Of course, even if I do get to watch the match (it's on at 4 am, and my wife and I will be in Japan...), I won't be around to offer my brilliant commentary. ;) Thus the advanced notice of how I will be feeling given certain situations. :) kimson: Amen. When it's all over and done with, I plan to root for whoever goes through. :) [img]http://www.liminality.org/asylum/sigs/suho_umbrella04.gif[/img] ___________________________ Suho: [url=http://www.liminality.org]www.liminality.org[/url] \| [url=http://www.ozoneasylum.com/4837]Cell 270[/url] \| [url=http://www.ozoneasylum.com/5689]Sig Rotator[/url] \| [url=http://www.ozoneasylum.com/22173]the Fellowship of Sup[/url] Loading...
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