What: 2011 Asian Cup Quarter-Final
Who: Iran vs South Korea
When: Saturday, 22nd January, 2011, at 16:25 UK Time
Where: Qatar SC Stadium, Doha, Qatar

Purring Persians

As the only team sitting on nine points after the group stage, Iran will surely be happy with themselves. At three times of asking Team Melli have won all their games, ending with a virtuoso performance against the United Arab Emirates in which they strolled to a 3-0 success.

The most fascinating thing about this Iran side is how cohesive they are. Compared to 2007’s performance where big names seemed to upset team harmony, Iran are playing like a well-oiled unit and it has become hard to pick star players as the entire team seem to be playing their roles to perfection.

Afshin Ghotbi can only be happy with his team as they have done everything he has asked, but he meets a worthy foe in his former charges, South Korea. A student of the great Guus Hiddink during his time in the Asian country, Ghotbi will need to be ever vigilant to make sure his last tournament in charge of Iran will be a fruitful one.

Taeguk Warriors Battling On

There have been promising signs for the East Asians, with some solid performances churned out in all of their games without really ever leaving second gear; their test against Australia was handled well even though they only managed a draw.

The biggest problem has been the absence of Park Chu-Young, their regular striker, and although his replacements haven’t disgraced themselves, the dynamism of Park is greatly missed. However, this has given rise to the exploits of Koo Ja-Cheol and Ki Sung-Yueng who have performed remarkably well in the Korean midfield, particularly the former.

South Korea coach Cho Kwang-Rae has been quite vocal about his opposition and there’s no doubt he’ll be testing Iran with a few shots over the bow. There are still some questions over whether his appointment is an improvement on Huh Jung-Moo, who performed admirably at the World Cup. Whether he can carry the team to the next level is open to question, but an Asian Cup win would go a long way towards pressing home his case. Surely Iran will prove an apt test for the former midfielder.

 

Recent form

Iran:
Iraq 1–2 Iran
(11/01; Asian Cup Group D)
Iran 1–0 North Korea
(14/01; Asian Cup Group D)
United Arab Emirates 0–3 Iran
(19/01; Asian Cup Group D)

South Korea:
South Korea 2–1 Bahrain
(10/01; Asian Cup Group C)
Australia 1–1 South Korea
(13/01; Asian Cup Group C)
South Korea 4–1 India (18/01; Asian Cup Group C)

Players to watch

Iran – Javad Nekanoum: Although the Osasuna midfielder hasn’t been making headlines, he has been tidily going about his work in Iran’s midfield, breaking up opposition moves and starting the transition to the attack. The 29-year-old is pivotal to Iran’s game plan, and as long as he plays, Iran will be hard to break down in midfield.

South Korea – Koo Ja-Cheol: Ever since the Jeju United midfielder was pushed forward into a more attacking role, he has consistently struck more goals. Generally considered more of an assister than a scorer, Cheol has helped himself to four goals in the group stage and the 21-year-old will be looking to add to that against Iran. He has been in terrific form so far this tournament, and he will need to be stopped if Iran want to keep a clean sheet.

Match Prediction

These are two teams that will set out to go for the jugular from the very beginning. A contrasting battle between a star studded South Korea and an otherwise modest Iranian team promises to be a possible game of the tournament. East and West Asia will meet, and it will be interesting to see what tactical battles emerge between the two coaches particularly with Guus Hiddink’s influence over South Korea and Ghotbi.

Depending on how both teams set up, it might be a question of who can outscore whom, as many teams have had weak defences throughout the tournament. Iran might be slight favourites due to their form, but only just. 2 -2 (after extra-time) with South Korea winning on penalties.