South Korea vs. Algeria
2014 FIFA World Cup
June 22 | 3 pm ET | Estádio Beira-Rio, Porto Alegre, Brazil
TV: ABC, Univision, CBC in Canada
South Korea come into their game against Algeria in Porto Alegre after being given a gift of a goal from Russian 'keeper Igor Akinfeev. They were unable to hold the lead and eventually took a point from the game. Algeria were organized against the Belgian attack but the dam eventually broke and they ended up with zero points. Both will look to come away with a win in this wide open group.
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FOXES ORGANIZED BUT CAN THEY SCORE? Algeria have only given up four goals in the last four World Cup games, so that's not a problem. But that attack? Problem with a capital "P". The Fennec Foxes have not scored from the run of play in any of the four games, with their only goal coming from the penalty spot. Can Algeria finally score and secure a win?
MASTER PLAN: South Korea lost their last game before heading to the World Cup 4-0 to Ghana in Miami. According to manager Hong Myung-Bo, that was all part of his plan. “The players did what was asked of them, I want to thank them,” he said. “The defeat against Ghana was just part of the process.” His plan was also to bring Lee Keun-Ho on so he could score against a tired Russian defense and that worked as well. Clearly his plans have very different results.
PEEVED HALIHODZIC: It is not out of the ordinary for managers to be mad at the referees when losing. That was the case after Vahid Halihodzic’s side lost to Belgium. On one of Belgium’s goals he felt Sofiane Feghouli was fouled and the play should have stopped. Despite this he felt his team should be proud. Will they be able to get the result this time?
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THE STAR YOU KNOW
- Park Chu-Young, forward, South Korea – The former Arsenal striker (he appeared in just one game) did not have much of an impact against Russia. Look for that to change as he has scored 24 goals in just 65 games with the Taeguk Warriors.
THE PLAYER WHO WILL SURPRISE YOU
- Saphir Taider, midfielder, Algeria – The 22-year-old creator played for France’s youth teams before deciding to make the switch to Algeria. He made 25 appearances for Inter Milan in Serie A last season
