FRANCE 98 – Match preview n°41

Belgium, dubbed boring and over-the-hill by critics, need to find their scoring touch on Thursday against beleagured South Korea to stand a chance of remaining in the World Cup.

The Belgians, slammed for their defensive approach in the 0-0 draw with Holland and taken apart by coach Georges Leekens for failing to hold on to a 2-0 lead against Mexico, trail those teams by two points in group E and have an inferior goal difference.

South Korea are reeling after the 5-0 hammering by Holland and the subsequent sacking of coach Cha Bum-Kun but they will go on a face-saving mission against Belgium to appease their angry fans. The Koreans are still looking for their first win in five World Cup finals and that failure is following the team like an albatross. A change of coach, particularly one whose only previous experience is guiding a women’s team, might prove a futile attempt to ward off the bad omens in their 14th World Cup game. Belgium beat South Korea 2-0 when they met in the 1990 finals and nothing less will do on Thursday but it’s questionable if they have the personnel to make it a stroll in the Parc Des Princes.

Playmaker Danny Boffin is out through injury and a lot will depend on the back-in-favour Enzo Scifo and Marc Wilmots, scorer of both goals against Mexico. Goalkeeper Filip De Wilde has a groin strain and Leekens may have to play Philippe Van De Walle who has only been capped twice. Also struggling to be fit in time is defensive midfielder Franky Van Der Elst. The 37-year-old ball winner is still feeling twinges from a thigh injury picked up last week in training. If he fails to recover, his place will go to 24-year-old Philippe Clement, like Van de Walle a novice in international football.

” The players know that they will need to give 200 per cent for this match. I don’t want to have to pull somebody off after 30 minutes because they are injured, “ said Leekens. Leekens will stand by Brazilian-born Luis Oliveira and Luc Nilis who are in the midst of a goal famine. Their efforts against Mexico were ridiculed in some sections of the media but the coach is hoping Oliveira, nicknamed ‘Falcon Man’, and Nilis will swoop against South Korea. ” I know there has been a lot of criticism about our strikers but you must respect them. For such an important match I have to go for experience and their commitment will be total, “ said Leekens. ” I am pretty confident we can win but the South Koreans are better than people think. It is not going to be easy. “

South Korea’s crisis coach Kim Pyong-Sok will be aided by the Korean FA technical committee in team selection and they are still unsure of their line-up. There is pressure on them to hand teenage striker Lee Dong-Gook, known as the ” Ronaldo of Korea “, his second cap alongside the dangerous Choi Yong-Soo in attack. Midfielder Seo Jung-Won, who plays for French side Strasbourg, was menacing in patches against Holland and he will be used to feed the front line.

Korea employed man-to-man marking tactics against Holland and the players ended up chasing the shadows of Dennis Bergkamp, Marc Overmars and Philip Cocu. That approach has been consigned to the dustbin of history as coach Kim does not rate Oliveira and Nilis. ” Wilmots is their danger man but I do not think our defenders will have any trouble with Belgium’s strikers, “ he said. ” They are not playing well. “ South Korea are enduring their worst World Cup since 1954 when they lost 9-0 to Hungary and 7-0 to Turkey and Kim intends to limit the damage as well as save face.

” We will defend in the first half and see how the game is shaping up, “ he said. ” The second half is the time to attack if we have the chance. The players want to win the game for the people of Korea and Cha Bum-Kun. “