Will Korea’s National Soccer Team Advance to Olympics?

The Korean Olympic soccer team led by Head Coach Pim Verbeek will have a qualifier match with Uzbekistan at Central Ammi Stadium in Tashkent, Uzbekistan at 9:00 p.m. (Korean time) on April 18.

Korea has won three wins in a row in Asian Olympic soccer qualifier Group F matches with Yemen, Arab Emirates (UAE), and Uzbekistan. If Korea wins this match, its advance to Olympic pre matches will be confirmed regardless of the results of the remaining two matches.

In Group F, Korea is on top with three wins (9 points), followed by Uzbekistan (2-1, 6p), UAE (1-2, 3p), and Yemen (0-3, 0p). If Korea beats Uzbekistan, it will advance to Olympic pre matches even if it loses the rest of its matches.

The national soccer team has reeled off 12 consecutive wins in Olympic qualifier games. The streak began when Korea beat Bahrain 2-1 in November 13, 1999 in a qualifier match for the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Korea has not lost an Olympic qualifier road match in 15 years.

Korea’s star player Park Joo-young (FC Seoul) will not play in the match because he was penalized in Korea’s match with Yemen.

However, Han Dong-won (Seongnam Ilhwa), who scored four goals in two previous qualifier matches, is in good condition. Yang Dong-hyeon (Ulsan Hyundai) will play at the forefront with Lee Geun-ho (Daegu FC) and Lee Seung-hyeon (Busan I-Park) at the flanker positions. Han will support them as an offensive midfielder.

Uzbekistan is looking to settle an account with Korea after losing to Korea 0-2 last month. Whether the Korean national team will win the match depends on how well it can adjust to the Uzbek home field, which is known to be in poor condition.

bluesky@donga.com