Olympic Football: Great Britain vs South Korea preview

August 3, 2012
By: Matthew Clarke

Great Britain defied the odds to win the first place in their group and they are now tipped to make it to the semi-finals.

South Korea were made to work hard for their place in the Last 8, and having conceded just one goal in three games they will aim to make life difficult for Team GB as well.

The tournament hosts faced numerous problems during their preparations for the 2012 Summer Olympics and it is for that reason that Stuart Pearce’s side were not really expected to enter the race for the coveted title.

Following somewhat disappointing showing against Senegal, the predictions looked spot on, but Team GB showed a massive improvement to win their next two games and made it to the quarter-finals from the first place in their group.

After playing really well against both UAE and Uruguay, Great Britain look a great bet to beat South Korea at odds of 2.25 (5/4) offered by William Hill.

Team’s impressive showings in group stage have seen them become second favourites for the title, and you should know Team GB are 8.00 (7/1) at BetVictor to lift the title.

Ryan Giggs will return to the starting line-up after he was rested against Uruguay, with Scott Sinclair likely to be dropped.

Probable starting line-up (4-3-3): Butland – Taylor, Richards, Caulker, Bertrand – Cleverley, Allen, Ramsey – Bellamy, Sturridge, Giggs.

South Korea were somewhat of an unknown quantity before the start of the Men’s football tournament, but they quickly showed they really belong here.

Myung-Bo Hong’s side qualified for the quarter-finals by beating Switzerland and playing out goalless draws against Mexico and Gabon, conceding just one goal in the process.

That goes to show that even with quality attackers like Park Chu-Young, Ji Dong-Won and Koo Ja-Cheol in the side, South Korea heavily rely on good defensive showings.

Having scored in just one of their three group games and facing a very good Team GB side, South Korea are 2.40 (7/5) with Sportingbet not to score at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

Probable starting line-up (4-5-1): Jung – Hwang, Yun, Kim Y.G., Kim C.S. – Kim B.K., Ki, Baek, Koo, Nam – Park C.Y.

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