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S. Korea coach counts on talented winger to carry offense in quarterfinals

January 21, 2015

Winger Son Heung-min (L) lifts forward Lee Jeong-hyeop at Pirtek Stadium in Sydney on Jan. 4, 2015, as the South Korean national football team defeated Saudi Arabia 2-0 in its final tune-up match ahead of the AFC Asian Cup. Lee scored his first international goal in his debut in injury time. (Yonhap)

MELBOURNE (Yonhap) — On the eve of his squad’s quarterfinals match against Uzbekistan at the AFC Asian Cup, South Korea head coach Uli Stielike said Wednesday he will look to winger Son Heung-min to carry the offense.

At the pre-match press conference at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, Stielike announced that Son will get the starting nod for South Korea. The showdown will kick off at 6:30 p.m. here, or 4:30 p.m. in Seoul, on Thursday.

This will be Son’s first start at the Asian Cup since the team’s Group A opener against Oman on Jan. 10. He missed the second match against Kuwait with a cold and came off the bench against Australia last week. South Korea claimed all three matches by the identical score of 1-0.

“Against Australia, we didn’t create a lot of opportunities, and we made many mistakes with our passes,” Stielike said. “I believe Son Heung-min will be able to generate many good opportunities.”

Son, a dynamic offensive weapon for Bayer Leverkusen, is one of South Korea’s most gifted players. His nose for the goal and his ability to control the ball at high speed can give defenders fits, though he hasn’t been able to demonstrate his skills so far at the Asian Cup.

The coach noted that Son has been slowly recovering from the flu. Son may not be able to play the full match on Thursday but will still be able to cause plenty of problems for Uzbekistan while he’s on the pitch, Stielike added.

South Korea is chasing its first Asian Cup since 1960. Stielike said the team hopes to stay in Australia until Jan. 31, the day of the championship final.

“We don’t want to have to leave in the middle of the tournament,” Stielike added. “We will keep progressing. After the group stage, the strengths and weaknesses of all teams have been revealed. I don’t think teams will make major strategic changes. We’ve prepared well for the quarterfinals over the past four days (since beating Australia on Saturday).”

Stielike observed that the pressure of trying to end the title drought seemed to have affected his players in the first two matches.

“I think we played better against Australia (than in the previous two matches) because we were able to shake off pressure,” the coach said. “The pressure will also be a key factor tomorrow. Whether the players can show the type of mental fortitude they did against Australia will also be important.”

Stielike reiterated that he won’t worry about strategies and tactics of his opponent, as long as his players can execute their game plan.

“We can’t control what type of changes the other team makes,” he added. “What’s important is how we respond to their changes. Since they’re professional athletes, they have to be able to make adjustments.”

Accompanying Stielike to the press conference, Son said he will put aside his personal ambitions for the greater good of the team.

“We’re here to win the championship,” he said. “And each and every one of us should be prepared accordingly.”

Son is mired in a personal 10-game scoreless drought internationally but insisted he couldn’t care less about his own statistics.

“I didn’t come to the Asian Cup to fulfill my personal goals,” he added. “It’d be nice to score a lot of goals, but winning is more important. We only managed three goals in group stage but won every match. Scoring would be nice, but our first and foremost goal is to win the tournament.”

Son said the magnitude of the win-or-go-home showdown isn’t lost on himself and his teammates.

“Unless people were dozing off during team meetings, they should all have a clear idea of how Uzbekistan is going to come out,” he added. “We have to go home if we lose. I think everyone understands this and will play hard.”