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South Korea are hot favourites to progress as they face Uzbekistan at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium on Thursday night in the first Asian Cup quarter final. Join The Roar from 6:30pm (AEDT) for live scores and coverage.
Having defeated home favourites the Socceroos in the final round of the group stage, the Koreans secured top spot in Group A and thus a slightly friendlier draw for the quarters.
Favoured at a measly $1.85 by the bookies to secure a victory over the Uzbeks, South Korea will still have to work hard to procure a semi-final spot.
Having not conceded a goal yet in the tournament, the Koreans will be hoping their defence continues to work hard and extends this impressive statistic.
Uzbekistan qualified for the quarter finals with a hard-fought victory over Saudi Arabia, thanks largely to their brand of attacking football which saw Sardor Rashidov net twice in a 3-1 victory.
Expect coach Mirdjalal Kasimov to retain Rashidov and recall some of the players who have helped the Uzbeks qualify for the knockout stage in the past four Asian Cups, including two-time Asian Footballer of the Year award winner, Server Djeparov.
The Koreans boast some big names including Heung Min Son, a striker who plies his trade for Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga and could prove a handful for the Uzbek defenders. Another dangerous European based player is Ki Sung Yueng who currently features regularly for Swansea and is captain of this impressive Korean outfit.
Expect an easy victory for South Korea here, they possess way too much talent for this Uzbek team to topple. Goals will be hard to come by for the Group B runners up whilst South Korea never seem to have an issue finding the net.
Prediction: South Korea 3-1 Uzbekistan
Join The Roar for live scores from 6:30pm (AEDT). If you are following the action live, be sure to share your thoughts on the match in the comments below.
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