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Belgium face Korea Republic in the final group fixture of the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Join The Roar for live scores and coverage from 6:00am (AEST).
Having already qualified for the Round of 16, Belgium will field a slightly different line up against Korea this morning in order to rest some players and try others against quality opposition.
Korea currently sit last of Group H, and will look to exploit a new Belgium back-line with quick counter-attacking football. To qualify, Korea must win convincingly against Belgium, and hope that Russia defeat Algeria by a narrow margin.
A draw in the other match may also be sufficient for Korea, but they will have to defeat Belgium by 3 goals or more to progress.
Belgium coach Marc Wilmots has stated that Manchester City’s Kompany and Arsenal’s Vermaelen are both out with minor injuries, and replacing them will most likely be Vertonghen and Lombaerts.
Whilst Belgium have already qualified, they head into the knock-out stage in unimpressive fashion; struggling during the group stage to win in the polished manner that many predicted they would.
Players such as Hazard, Lukaka and Fellaini have struggled to leave their mark on the competition thus far, and therefore the final Group match will be one where Belgium attempts to win back their doubters with impressive, attractive football.
Whoever shows up, we are certain of one thing; this match will be of a high tempo and South Korea will attack. This may open the game up for plenty of goals in what is sure to be a thrilling encounter to decide Korea’s fate.
South Korea entered the competition as somewhat of an enigma, with several big name players heading their attack, but coming into the competition without the results that could strike fear into the bigger teams. Nevertheless, they’ve shown they can play football, though have also shown their defence needs work.
For South Korea, attacking comes naturally, but as they attack, they’ll need to keep the back door secure. Young-Gwon is a highly regarded defender, and will need to keep tabs on Lukaka for the full 90 minutes – a task which he is more than capable of fulfilling.
In attack Heung-Min and Ja-Cheol must be at their best for Korea to get the goals they need to progress. Heung-Min has been lethal for Leverkusen this season, and his change of pace may just get the better of Belgium’s inexperienced back-line.
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