With the top seed in Group A secured at the AFC Asian Cup, South Korea on Sunday is scheduled to travel to Melbourne, the site of its quarterfinals match later in the week.
South Korea defeated Australia 1-0 here on Saturday for its third consecutive victory by that identical score. South Korea, chasing its first Asian Cup since 1960, finished at the top of Group A with nine points and will take on Uzbekistan, the Group B runner-up, in the quarterfinals. The kickoff for that showdown will be 6:30 p.m. Thursday, or 4:30 p.m. in Seoul, at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium.
China won Group B and will take on Australia, the runner-up in Group A. Uzbekistan defeated Saudi Arabia 3-1 on Sunday in Melbourne to clinch the second seed from Group B.
South Korea has eight wins, one loss and two draws against Uzbekistan so far, but has had some trouble in recent matches.
During the Asian qualification for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, South Korea was held to a 2-2 draw on the road in September 2012, and then eked out a 1-0 win at home in June 2013 on an own goal by Uzbekistan.
Uzbekistan scored five goals and allowed three in three group matches.
South Korea had been set to leave for Melbourne on Sunday morning. Yet head coach Uli Stielike scheduled a recovery training session in the morning here before flying to Melbourne to make sure the players would be stretched and loose.
The players who took the field against Australia stayed at the team hotel for swimming and light walking. Other players went through light drills at the team’s training facility, the Queensland Sports and Athletic Centre.
Stielike will be carrying a banged-up squad with him to the knockout stage. South Korea has already lost winger Lee Chung-yong for the tournament to a broken leg, and a handful of players had bouts of colds that kept them out of the lineup in the second group match against Kuwait last week.
Stielike received even more bad news Sunday, as midfielder Koo Ja-cheol was ruled out of the tournament with a torn ligament in his right elbow.
Koo was one of two South Koreans who went down in a hard-fought
— at times chippy — match against Australia on Saturday.
Park Joo-ho took an elbow to the face in midair while battling for a loose ball in the first half. After leaving the field with a nosebleed, Park came back to play for a few more minutes but was eventually replaced by Han Kook-young. Park showed symptoms of a concussion during the match, according to national team officials.
In the opening moments of the second half, Koo fell awkwardly on his right forearm after an aerial battle for the ball and was stretchered off in obvious pain.
After the match Saturday, team officials said Koo hadn’t suffered a fracture or a dislocation. Then an MRI on Sunday showed that he had a tear in his right elbow ligament.
Koo was the leading scorer of the 2011 Asian Cup and was named the Player of the Match against Oman in South Korea’s first group match on Jan. 10.
Without both Lee Chung-yong and Koo, South Korea will have to do without two of their most experienced attacking midfielders. Lee is a veteran of two FIFA World Cups, and Koo has previously played at the 2010 Asian Games, the 2012 Olympics and the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
Separately, defensive back Kim Ju-young sprained an ankle in recent practice and is hoping to be available for the quarterfinals.
“These are professional athletes, and there’s plenty of time to recover and get ready (for the quarters),” Stielike said after the match Saturday. “The players will have to work until they’re 100 percent, and the key is to stay in top shape.”
The team’s injury situation has forced Stielike to constantly tinker with his lineup. Through the first three matches, 22 players on the original 23-man roster have been in action. Goalkeeper Jung Sung-ryong is the only player who has yet to take the field, and he and midfielder Han Kook-young are the only two that have yet to start a match.
Only three players — midfielders Ki Sung-yueng and Park Joo-ho, and fullback Kim Jin-su — have started all three matches so far.
“So far, players have been able to step up and fill the void when we had injuries,” Stielike said. “We don’t know how much longer we can do that, but we have to do our best to stay prepared.
Everyone must be ready because you never know who will get the call.” (Yonhap)
