Team Korea’s Next Hurdle: Switzerland

Scheduled to face Switzerland in the last match of Group-G on June 24 in Hannover, the Korean national team would like to carry on the momentum of the recent 1-1 draw against formidable France.

The inflated mood within the national team settled as Switzerland beat Togo 2-0 on June 19. A draw between Switzerland and Togo would have automatically advanced Korea into the next round no matter if it wins or loses against Switzerland. Now with that hope gone as Switzerland takes the lead in the group, Team Korea realizes that it has to earn its ticket to the round of 16.

“It would still have been nice if the match (Switzerland vs. Togo) ended 1-0. The only option remaining for us now is to win. If we beat Switzerland, no one will say we didn’t get there on our own; I think that’s for the best,” said Jo Jae-jin. “Now Switzerland will feel relaxed because all they need is a draw against us. Such relaxed thinking will be their weakness. We need to attack that and out-pressurize them; that will lead us to victory.”

Dick Advocaat and Pim Verbeek visited Dortmund World Cup Stadium on June 19 to take a peek at the competition. This illustrates how important the upcoming match on June 24 is for the Korean team. Advocaat and Verbeek watched the game carefully and took note of the Swiss players and their strategy.

KFA technical analyzers, who support the Korean team by providing comprehensive analysis on the national team and its opponents, made onsite analyses of the Swiss-Togo match, Ukraine-Saudi Arabia match, and Spain-Tunisia match on Monday. Korea will have to face one of these teams from Group H in case it advances to the round of 16.

Along with the inputs from the KFA analyzers, Advocaat also listened to his old acquaintances in Holland and Scotland for information concerning his team’s potential opponents.

As the Korean squad fights uphill battles in away games, all the cheering from Korean fans makes the team feel at home. In both Togo and France matches, some twenty thousand Korean fans flocked to the stadium and dominated the cheering scene.

But the Red Devils will find a stiff competition in the Swiss match. The entire nation of Switzerland is cheering for their squad that made the World Cup main round for the first time in twelve years. At the Togo match held on June 19, some forty thousand red-clad Swiss filled up the stadium that seats sixty thousand.

On the other hand, the Red Devils are expected to be twenty thousand strong as Korean fans from both Korea and European countries join in on the day of the match. With the Swiss supporters outnumbering the Korean side, the atmosphere will be a lot different for the Korean team than how it was at Togo and France matches.

Jong-Koo Yang yjongk@donga.com