South Korea Vs New Zealand : Sultan Azlan Shah – Day 3 Preview
The South Korean team will face-off against New Zealand in the 20th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, being held at the Sultan Azlan Shah Stadium in Ipoh, Malaysia. Here is a quick preview of the teams and what to expect from them during the matchup:
South Korea
Korea has been a very strong contender in international hockey competitions, mostly ending up among the top five nations. After a gap of almost two years since the 2008 Summer Olympics, the Korean team made reappearance in the 2010’s Azlan Shah Cup, where
it reached the finals. The match failed to take place due to heavy rain and water-logging declaring a joint win to the two finalists, India and Korea.
This was their second Azlan Shah win since their last Azlan Shah title-win in 1996. They have a record of being four times runner-ups three consecutive years 1999-2001, 2005 and this event.
The team seems quite composed this year with a victory over India by a close 3-2. However, they also faced a defeat from Pakistan at 2-4, the next day. Korea has always been one of the unpredictable teams in hockey and that makes them dangerous.
New Zealand
The Black Sticks opened up with a disappointing loss from Pakistan at 4-2, on the inaugural day of the 2011 Azlan Cup edition.
The team was expected to be tough to beat. However, they failed to put an impression in front of the Malaysian crowd. The team’s head coach Shane McLeod said, “We are the third highest ranked team going into the tournament, but we are missing some key players
and we have a young side, so we need to be realistic about our chances.”
This year, Black Stick’s players Phil Burrows and Shea McAleese were unavailable for the Azlan Cup Invitational, therefore, the coach appointed the 223 capped Dean Couzins as the captain. Moreover, Simon Child and James Coughlan were also dropped from the
list due to their injuries and Wellington’s Matt L’Huillier was called to join the team.
This Capital player displayed his abilities very well in the last two matches in the Azlan Shah, being the star for the Black Stick team.
Players to watch
From the Korean side, Jang Jong Hyun will be the center of attention because he is counted among one of the most lethal drag-flick experts in the world. On the other hand, the Auckland player, Dean Couzins, will put up a good fight, leading his team towards
securing a win.
Head-to-head Statistics
In their last encounter in the 2010 World Cup, New Zealand managed to defeat Korea by 2-1 in the quarter-final round. Both the teams will have a heated battle on the Malaysian ground.
Prediction
New Zealand will be the stronger side of the match, but will manage a win at 3-2.
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