Russia vs Korea Republic

The encounter between Russia and South Korea will conclude the first round of group stage matches of the 2014 World Cup. Grouped with tournament dark horses Belgium and Algeria, both Russia and South Korea will have high hopes of reaching the knockout stages.

They have faced each other only once in their history and Russia won 2-1 on that day. The Russians, coached by former England manager Fabio Capello qualified for the tournament directly in impressive style after topping their group which included Portugal. They have qualified for the tournament for the first time since 2002. But they have never gone beyond the group stages when they participated in the World Cup earlier in 1994 and 2002.

South Korea on the other hand were the hosts in 2002 and shocked the entire world by reaching the semi-finals of the tournament. In 2010 they reached the round of 16.

Venue

The match will be played in Arena Pantanal in Cuiaba. The stadium was constructed for the World Cup and has a capacity of 41,112.

Match timings

June 18 – 03.30 IST

June 17 – 23.00 Local time

Squads

Russia

The Russians were dealt a huge blow last week when captain Roman Shirokov had to withdraw from the squad due to a knee injury. The team is expected to clear the group this time around but it won’t be an easy outing for them by any means.

CSKA Moscow’s Igor Akinfeev is expected to start in goal. In the heart of their defense will be two more players from CSKA Moscow Sergei Iganshevich and VasiliBerezutski. The vast experience these three players have playing together should come in handy for the Russians in stifling the opposition.

Igor Denisov, captaining the team in the absence of Shirokov, will be their key man in midfield. The Russians will be attacking with all their might through the likes of Viktor Fayzulin who scored three times in 10 appearances during qualifying. Alan Dzagoev who impressed in the 2012 Euro with three goals even though the Russians were knocked out in the group stages will be looking to excel once again on the international stage.

Leading the Russian attack will be the experienced Aleksandr Kerzhakov. Kerzhakov is just two goals short of becoming Russia’s all-time leading goal scorer.

South Korea

The Asian team came into the tournament after a lackluster qualifying campaign where they finished second behind Iran which forced them to appoint Hong Myung-Bo as their new coach. Hong is South Korea’s most capped player and has appeared as player in four different World Cups. The current South Korean team are unlikely to repeat the feat of the team from 2002, but they do have some quality players in their side.

The experienced Jung Sung-Ryong is likely to start in goal. QPR defender Yun Suk-Young may not feature in the starting eleven, but Augsburg defender Hong Jeong-Ho is likely to start in defense and fellow Bundesliga player Park Joo-Ho is also another key player in their defense. South Korea’s defense might be their weak link.

Swansea City player Ki Sung-Yueng who impressed this season with Sunderland will be a key player in the midfield. Even though South Korea have a comparatively weak defense, they have a good offensive line-up. Ji Dong-Won who impressed this season with Ausburg and is joining Borussia Dortmund next season is another player who will look to impress at the World Cup.

Arsenal player Park Chu-Young who has had two back to back poor seasons has been picked in the squad and may still feature for the team due to his vast experience and good form with the national team. Park has scored 24 times in 64 appearances for South Korea.

Bayer Leverkusen player Son Heung-Min who had an impressive season with his club is another sure starter. Son can play both as a winger and striker and has been on the radar of many clubs.

Probable Starting Line Ups

Russia (4-3-2-1) – Kerzhakov is expected to lead the attack with Kokorin starting on the wing, with Denisov holding the midfield. Russia have plenty of players to call up from the bench to change the game as well.

South Korea (4-4-2) – This formation would utilise their strike force effectively. Son will be playing on the wings with Park and Ji up front.

Key Battles

The South Korean full-back who will be up against Kokorin will have his plateful during the match.Kokorin has played as a winger under Capello but can also take up a central role if neccesary.

South Korea’s Ki Sung who was instrumental in getting Sunderland out of relegation had a good season for his club and will be raring to go. The likes of Denisov and Glushakov will have to keep the Korean at bay. If given too much space and time Ki can make the Russians pay.

Interesting Facts

Capello's side are unbeaten in their last nine games and haven't tasted defeat since a surprise 1-0 reverse against Northern Ireland in August last year.
Korea lost both their warm up games, losing 1-0 to Tunisia and 4-0 to Ghana
This is only Russia’s third appearance in a World Cup, they have already qualified for the 2018 edition as hosts (not counting appearances as Soviet Union)
This is South Korea’s 8th successive appearance at the World Cup. Only Brazil, Germany, Italy, Argentina and Spain have a better record.
Russia have never gone past the group stages while Korea finished 4th in 2002.
Alan Dzagoev of Russia was the joint top-scorer at Euro 2012 with Cristiano Ronaldo, Mario Gomez, Mario Mandzukic, Fernando Torres and Mario Balotelli
South Korea have won their last three World Cup openers.
South Korea have scored the most direct free-kicks in the World Cup since 1990 (5)

Prediction

Korea’s form has been poor recently and they are very likely to struggle against a strong Russian side. Russia will be looking for a good win ahead of their next game against Belgium.

Predicted scoreline: 3-0.

Match Officials

Referee: Néstor Pitana (Argentina)

Assistant referees: Hernán Maidana (Argentina), Juan Pablo Belatti (Argentina)

Fourth official: Roberto Moreno (Panama)

Edited by Staff Editor

Russia vs Korea Republic - What we can expect - Preview and Prediction