When it comes to the World Cup the Republic of Korea are Asia's most successfull team. In general the South Koreans have competed in more tournaments than any other team on their continent and then in 2002 they defied all World Cup betting odds by taking 4th place at the World Cup on home ground. With these successes in the back of their mind South Korea will now want to impress in the World Cup in South Africa as well.

Out of six of the seven participations in the World Cup the team only ever made it into the preliminary rounds, but then eight years ago the whole country erupted in football euphoria. Nevertheless the Taeguk Warriors seemed a little more fragile during the qualifiers than in the last six tournaments. As the No. 52 in FIFA rankings the Republic of Korea only entered the qualifiers during the third round of Asian qualification. Despite mediocre games against Jordan, North Korea and Saudi Arabia they concluded without a defeat and went on to join the significantly harder opponents Nigeria, Argentina and Greece in Group B.

Coach Huh Jung-Moo has only been leading the South Korean team since the end of 2007, but he has featured in World football for much longer. In 1986 in Mexico he scored a World Cup goal against the Italians, thereafter he became assistant coach and then took over the team three times between 1995 and 2004 as interim coach.

The biggest star of the South Koreans is without question the 29-year-old Park Ji-Sung. The midfield player of Manchester United is not only the first South Korean to have made it into the Premiere League, he is also the first Asian to ever have won the Champions League final. Ji-Sung is tireless and is known for constantly applying pressure on the enemies offence. Furthermore the to-date weak offence of the Taegeuk Warriors could also be a thing of the past with the appearance of Chu-Young. The 24 -Year-old forward from AS Monaco can be positioned flexibly at the front and is fast as lightning. An ice-cold enforcer who is also excellent at taking free kicks.

Of course the South Korea 2010 World Cup team appears to be the underdog in Group B against the likes of Nigeria, Argentina and Greece. But we must not forget that in 2002 the strong willed Asians left behind football giants such as Portugal, Italy and Spain. As such the opponents of the Republic of Korea in the World Cup in South Africa would do well to take them very seriously.

The Group matches of the South Koreans:
Sat 12.06. 16.00 South Korea - Greece / Nelson Mandela Bay / Port Elizabeth
Thurs 17.06. 20:30 Argentina - South Korea / Johannesburg
Tues 22.06. 20:30 Nigeria - South Korea / Durban