#29-South Korea

#29-South Korea
Nickname-Taegeuk Warriors
Asian Football Confederation
FIFA Ranking-#61 (February 2014)
Group H (Belgium, Russia, Algeria, South Korea)
Projected Results...
Loss to Belgium
Loss to Russia
Tie to Algeria
Manager-Hong Myung-Bo
Qualified through second place finish in AFC FIFA WC Qualification Group A
9th World Cup Appearance (1954, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010)
Projected Finish-Fourth in Group H

South Korea seems to always put forth a great effort in the World Cup, but they find themselves in a group with emerging powerhouse Belgium, a strong side in Russia, and young Algerian side with a lot of quality.  South Korea struggled through qualification, finishing behind Iran.  For anyone reading the blog weekly, you would see that I ranked Iran 32nd, which means that South Korea performed so poorly in qualifying that they finished behind them in the group.  However, South Korea always plays a structured style and is always very organized in their defending and can counter attack well.  Last World Cup, South Korea was able to escape the group stages before losing to Japan in penalty kicks.  This group seems to be Belgium's, and Russia and Algeria will compete closely for the 3rd position.  However, I am not fully convinced by Russia, which struggled at the end of qualified, and I definitely have some doubts about Algeria due to their youth up front.  South Korea could surprise, but I think it's unlikely.  Here are three players to look out for if South Korea can advance:

Park Chu-Young-On loan at Watford from Arsenal, this 28 year old possesses some quality up front for Korea, where they definitely miss former Manchester United forward Park Ji-Sung (retired from international football.)  Chu-Young is going to need to be in form going into the tournament, but I'm not sure he will be given the lack of appearances he has gotten with Watford so far this season.

Koo Ja-Cheol-Playing for Mainz in the Bundesliga, the 24 year old midfielder is going to be very fun to watch in the World Cup.  He has 34 appearances for the national team, and 12 goals.  He is great at cutting through defenses, and is going to be a top scorer for Korea if they play through the group stage.  I'm excited to watch how he matches up with Belgium and Russia.  I wouldn't be surprised if he transferred to a bigger club in the near future.

Son Heung-Min-Another player in the Bundesliga, he plays for Bayer Leverkusen as a 21 year old in the midfield.  He is going to be so important for Korea in making key passes to set up opportunities to score.  He has big game experience, being that his team is currently in the UEFA Champions League knockout stages.  He will be so massive to this team, and he has 22 appearances for Korea, netting 5 goals during that span.

South Korea has a hefty challenge, but they traditionally have a very calm and collected group.  Though I find it will be difficult for them to advance, they could entertain and put a scare into the rest of Group H.