Russia vs Korea Republic

June 16, 2014
By: Nemanja Lazarevic

Having been placed in a very evenly matched group, both Russia and Korea Republic will want to enjoy a bright start to the tournament and edge closer to the knockout stages. Sbornaya Komanda appear to be slight favourites for the win, while their opponents need to put the 4-0 friendly defeat to Ghana behind them and give their best at Arena Pantanal.

Russia finished above Portugal

This will be Russia’s third appearance at the World Cup finals as an independent country, and they are hoping to progress from the group stage for the first time. With Fabio Capello taking over from Dick Advocaat after the unsuccessful Euro 2012 campaign, Sbornaya Komanda have managed to show a great deal of improvement, winning their 2014 World Cup qualifying group ahead of star-studded Portugal side. Russia have since been pretty convincing in international friendlies, defeating Korea Republic, Armenia, Slovakia and Morocco while sharing spoils with Serbia and Norway. The national team seem to have profited a great deal from the strong league championship, with every single player in the 23-man squad plying his trade in the Russian Premier League. Fabio Capello seems to have managed to create a homogeneous unit and his side do appear to be the favourites to progress from Group H alongside Belgium. Having said that, I fully expect them to win their opening fixture against Korea Republic.

Roman Shirokov was forced to withdraw due to injury, while his replacement Pavel Moglievets is doubtful through illness.

Four defeats in last five games

After ending a 32-year wait for an appearance at the World Cup finals, Korea Republic are now preparing for the eight straight tournament. The Taeguk Warriors have only twice managed to get past the group stage, in 2002 when they reached the semi-final with a huge help from the referees as the host nation and in 2010. However, this appears to be one of their weakest squads in recent history, with star player Park Ji-Sung retiring and key attacker Park Chu-Young largely struggling to get some game time at club level. It was, therefore, not surprising to see Korea lose four of last five international friendlies, conceding 11 goals in the process, with 2-0 triumph over Greece their only positive result of late. The 4-0 loss to Ghana in their final warm-up fixture was maybe a bit harsh on Taeguk Warriors, but chances are the players will be extremely low on confidence following such a disappointing result, which is going to further damage their chances of getting something from the Russia match.

Despite his lack of action, Arsenal forward Park Chu-Young looks set to lead the line, with Son Heung-Min and Lee Chung-Yong to be deployed in wide positions.

Verdict

While Korea Republic do have plenty of potential in their ranks, four defeats in last five games are enough to suggest they do not arrive in perfect mood. Meanwhile, Russia have been very convincing under Fabio Capello and they don’t seem to rely on individual quality but rather on strong performance as a group.

Top pick: Home win   2.20 (6/5) @ Paddy Power

Alternative pick 1: Both teams to score   2.05 (21/20) @ Coral

Alternative pick 2: Home win + both teams to score   5.50 (9/2) @ SkyBet

We Highly Recommend These Places
Share your Opinion!