Asia Cup Preview: North Korea Vs Iran
After starting their quest for glory with a 2-1 victory over arch-rivals, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Iran-c2923 will be looking to progress to the knockout stages of the competition by beating North Korea.
Iran’s best known players, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Masoud-Shojaei-c24565, who play for La Liga side, Osasuna, will be aiming to spearhead their team to a victory against a North Korean side that has much work to do after they managed to salvage a draw in their first
match, against UAE.
Iran are currently leading Group D with three points, while North Korea are in second place. Even two points in the remaining two games might be enough to secure a knockout berth for the Iranian side, but the team will definitely be looking to improve on
their start to the tournament.
In the match against UAE, North Korea never really looked like a side that could be considered a threat, and the UAE defence wasn’t made to work that hard throughout the whole 90 minutes.
The captain of North Korea, Hong Yong Jo, has told his teammates that a win against Iran is the only chance they have for qualification in the next phase of the Asian Cup. Yong Jo will be looking to forget about his missed penalty during the 0-0 draw with
UAE, and knows that his team will be up against one of the best Asian side of the tournament in their up-coming match.
Iran will have a clear psychological advantage over the North Koreans for this match. They beat North Korea 2-0 in the FIFA World Cup Qualifying round in Tehran, and then held Korea to a 0-0 draw away from home. Even after such good performances, Iran was
denied a ticket to http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/South-Africa-c757, while North Korea made it to the mega event.
The match is going to be a very critical fixture for the North Korean team as a defeat can somewhat ruin their chances to qualify for the next round; they will have to face a tough last group game against Iraq, who are the current Asian Champions, and will
not be able to afford a defeat.
Players to watch out for:
Jong Tae-Se
He is arguably North Korea’s most recognizable player. The imposing Japan-born forward is the key man for North Korea. Playing in Bundesliga 2 for http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/VfL-Bochum-c40880, the Korean has enough experience in him that can help his team bag the game if he is utilized properly.
Javad Nekounam
The man from Osasuna has over a 100 caps for his national side and has extensive experience from La Liga. Javad is a gifted player who can easily manipulate the speed of the game with or without possession.
Along with Masoud Shojaei and Andranik Teymourian, Nekounam will be Iran’s greatest hope of getting a win against North Korea, who will definitely try to keep the ball away from the trio as much as possible.
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