Up Against Iran, Again

“Tie up the ‘Iran Three’: Ali Karimi (29), Vahid Hashemian (31) and Javad Nekounam (27).” This is the work that has been assigned to the Korean national team which needs to win against Iran in its final eight match of the 2007 Asian Cup. These three players are Iran’s key players. Korea will play the match against Iran in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on July 22 at 7:20 p.m.

Karimi, who plays for Bayern Munich in Germany’s Bundesliga is a familiar player to Korean fans. He was the hat-trick scorer in the match against Korea in the 2004 Asian Cup top eight match held in China. He was also the highest scorer during the competition with five goals. At the time, Korea lost to Iran 3-4. Karimi, who was selected as the 2004 Asia Football Confederation (AFC)’s player of the year, remains as the pillar of his team. He is best known for controlling Iran’s game from the mid-field, creating a stream of offensive opportunities for his team.

Hashemian is Iran’s main striker. Although his recent form has been questionable, he is capable of flaunting his excellent skills at any time. One player who has been performing particularly well in this tournament is midfielder Nekounam. He has shown great goal-scoring ability, being behind the dramatic goal that evened the score 2-2 in the match against China, as well as scoring the first goal in the match against Malaysia. Nekounam’s individual skill and passing are also excellent.

Lee Yeong-moo, head of Korea Football Association’s technical committee, picked Karimi, Hashemian and Nekounam as the players that the Korean team must watch out for, saying, “Center striker Hashemian and center mid-fielders Karimi and Nekounam need to be guarded, and if these center players can be blocked from the midfield, a successful result is likely for Korea.” In particular, these players are known to be somewhat weak when under systematic pressuring. Some analyze that the team has just recently passed its heyday and shows signs of getting old. The prospects are that if Korea’s young defenders use their stamina to continuously pressure their opposition, the game will be a success. Lee said, “As Iran’s players have shown a weakness against teams with strong teamwork, if (the team) uses their stamina to move systematically, there will be good results.”

Meanwhile, Iran’s coach Amir Ghalenoei said, “We are not afraid of the match against Korea.” He said, “We have analyzed by video tape the previous matches that Korea has played. I cannot say much at this given moment, but we are not afraid of Korea.”

Korea and Iran have met several times in the Asian Cup. Since the 1996 United Arab Emirates competition, they have played against each other four consecutive times in the Asian Cup match of the final eight. In 1996, Korea experienced a devastating 2-6 loss. In Lebanon 2000, Korea beat Iran 2-1 and made it to third place. In China 2004, Korea failed to reach the quarter-finals, losing 3-4. If Korea manages to defeat Iran in the match of the final eight, they will play in the quarter-finals against the winner of the Iraq-Vietnam match. They are all teams that Korea has a good chance of beating so it is possible for the team to look toward competing in the finals.

Meanwhile, on the other side, the winner of the Saudi Arabia-Uzbekistan match and the winner of the Japan-Australia match will meet in the quarter-finals, which will likely be day after day of close games.

bluesky@donga.com