Swiss Match Will Be Endurance Battle

“Defend first, attack later.” Dick Advocaat’s strategy worked like a charm against both France and Togo. Korea has been successful in exhausting its opponent with tight defense before shifting to the offensive in full force in the later part of the game.

At the France match on June 19, Korea had seven of its players—four defenders and three midfielders: Lee Eul-yong, Kim Nam-il, and Lee Ho—all tending to the defense in the first half. In the second half, Lee Eul-yong was replaced by attacker Seol Ki-hyeon. At 27 minutes into the second half, joker Ahn Jung-hwan took the field in Lee Chun-su’s stead and started attacking France’s defense.

The veteran-oriented French side started to loosen due to rapid exhaustion of stamina. This led to the game-tying goal by Korea’s Park Ji-sung at 36 minutes into the second half. The defend first, attack later strategy worked out nicely against France.

Switzerland presents a different challenge. It is not a team to boast personal techniques but has tight, exquisite organization that is like Swiss clockwork. France, in both regional preliminary and the first round was unable to find an opening.

The best way for Korea to reach the round of 16 is to defeat the Swiss. It will be difficult, but not insurmountable. The Korean team’s morale is at its highest as the team is in the lead of Group-G with four points. Although the match against Togo will decide how confident Switzerland will remain, the Swiss team will likely be more desperate than the Koreans.

Switzerland is capable of penetrating the opposing side with short, precise passes while its high physical endurance enables the team to exact pressure on its opponents. But it has weaknesses. SBS commentator Hwang Sun-hong points out that the Swiss central defenders Phillipe Senderos and Johan Djourou tend to become less formidable once the ball gets behind them. Advocaat is expected to aim for such an opening. Since it is difficult to penetrate the towering Arsenal duo head-on, the best bet is to stir up their four-back defense by assiduous side penetration.

The young players of the Swiss team, due to inexperience, tend to falter rapidly and get exited easily. “Advocaat will attempt fast counter attacks when the Swiss four-back defenders are drawn to the front,” said Hwang.

The upcoming match will likely be another contest of endurance. Former national team coach Choi Jin-han pointed out that Switzerland dominated the match against technically superior France with its stamina and organization. “The Korea vs. Switzerland match will be a battle of endurance.”

Jong-Koo Yang Jae-Yun Jung yhongk@donga.com jaeyuna@donga.com