The second Group H match of the day is between South Korea, who drew with Russia last week, and Algeria, who lost to Belgium despite leading for much of the match. No Group H team really impressed in that first round, but it’s a new day. Both teams need to go for the win today.
What’s At Stake
Belgium are through with six points already, so the remaining three teams are probably fighting for the right to lose to Germany next round. South Korea made the semifinals in 2002; expectations are still high, whether they should be or not. Algeria have never made it out of the first round and won’t if they lose today.
South Korea are a 4-2-3-1 side, with two wingers (Lee Chung-Yong and Son Heung-Min) and a striker (Park Chu-Young) surrounding an attacking midfielder (Koo Ja-Cheol). Koo was one of few bright spots for either team in the Russia game; he keeps and uses the ball extremely well and will be central to the Korean attack today.
Algeria played 4-3-3 with one holding midfielder (Carl Medjani) behind two slightly more attack-minded players (Saphir Taïder and Nabil Bentaleb). That means we’ll probably see man-marking in the center with two deep Koreans marking two advanced Algerians and one deep Algerian (Medjani) marking one advanced Korean (Koo). Algeria will therefore have most luck attacking on the wings, which is where their focus was against Belgium, too.
Players to Watch
South Korea: Lee Chung-Yong, the right winger. He never really got going against Russia, but he is prone to dazzling bursts of skill.
Algeria: Sofiane Feghoulia, the tricky right winger who won and scored a penalty in the first match against Belgium.
Daniel Mann and Kasey Keller. As I said half-jokingly after the Russia vs. South Korea match, Keller tends to shy away from naming players on lesser-known sides, and we might see that here today. He’s been pretty good otherwise, though. Solid commentary team.
Match-specific Drinking Games
Cirkumlokution: Take a shot whenever Kasey Keller identifies a player by nationality and position instead of his name. How drunk? If you die, don’t blame me. Blame Kas…errr, the American commentator.
Siege: Drink if all eleven North Africans retreat into their own half for thirty straight seconds. How drunk? Consistent buzz. The Koreans aren’t great scorers, but they possess the ball well.
Blank: Take two shots if the match is goalless at halftime. Two more if goalless at full time. How drunk? Hard to say, but neither team has tons of firepower.
Algeria: Hamoud Boualem, a soft drink.
South Korea: Soju, the most sold spirit in the world.
For more:
– Read my general World Cup watching guide.
– Check out Zonal Marking, my favorite tactics website.
– See a commentary schedule or a review of each commentator.
– See where I’m getting my national drink recommendations.
– Check out other match previews from this group: Belgium vs. Russia, Russia vs. South Korea, Belgium vs. Algeria