South Korea welcome the visitors Bahrein in the Asian Cup – Playoffs – 1/8 Finals. The match will be held on Tuesday, January 22nd, at the Al Rashid Stadium (Dubai).
Seen as one of the Asian Cup favorites, the South Korean national team did not let their fans down. They won three of three group stage fixtures, keeping their sheet clean on the run. Now they face a frugal Bahrein, who are underestimated, as to us. Though the Tuesday guests took only the third place in their group and won just one encounter, they are capable of netting to the Koreans.
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Bahrein are far from being called a top team even in the Asian football, but they feature progression over the years. Just recently, they withstood Syria and China, and they scored to teams who did not park the bus. South Korea do not shut out, defending in their box. On the contrary, they play open football with heavy attacks. Therefore, goals in their clashes are quite common – don’t be misled by their three plays ‘to nil’ in the Asian Cup. Even the national teams of Philippines and Kyrgyzstan, whose class is by no means higher than Bahrein’s is, fashioned their opportunities near Korea’s net. Thus, Bahrein having nothing to lose, will also create their moments. Moreover, it is not the first time that they score to the Koreans. In the Asian Cup 2007 and the Asian Cup 2011, they netted to the ‘Taegeuk Warriors’. In the last tournament, they did not even qualify to playoffs, but they scored to UAE and Qatar. In another Asian Cup in 2004, Bahrein were also considered clear underdogs, which did not hamper them from taking the fourth place and net thrice to Japan and Indonesia, twice to Uzbekistan, China, and Iran, and only Qatar were scored once. The present Bahrein are not that good, but they made goals to UAE and India, they were about to unlock Thailand’s defense – so the team cannot be underestimated. Does Paulo Bento realize this though? The question remains open. The Koreans allowed to Bahrein in three consecutive meetings, but they did not learn their lesson even after the first encounter. They may possibly fail to do so this time either. Above this, the ‘Warriors’’ clean sheets last too long. The team could miss yet on the group stage, but they were lucky enough and kept their goal locked.
As for the hosts’ goals, there is no doubt that we will see them. South Korea look great in their attacks, so Bahrein will hardly play ‘to nil’ tomorrow. None of the Asian Cup contender survived against the Koreans, neither Bahrein will do. South Korea are among the most effective national teams so far. They count fifty-two hits, twenty shots on target – just within three matches. However, the team are not much concerned about their defense. They were hit a bit more rarely – twenty-four times, that is eight hits per game on average, which is quite a lot, as far as the favorites are concerned. If the guests concede tomorrow, no one will blame them. Progression to playoffs is a kind of success for the Bahreini team, while under the Koreans’ slipup, the criticism cannot be avoided. Each minute of the coming head-to-head will bring more pressure, mostly to Bento’s side. The jitters will hardly augur for positive results. In our view, the possibility of goals to either side is underestimated. Bahrein were many times a surprise in similar competitions, and they will possibly be in the present one as well. The Koreans will certainly make their regular goal. They managed to unlock the Germans’ defense in the World Cup, so Bahrein will not present much difficulty to them for sure.
Prediction for the match: Both teams to score.
