Sunday at 3ET
This may be a very difficult matchup for Korea. Algeria played very tough vs a strong Belgium side and looked to be in control for most of the first half. They surprised Belgium by actually playing fairly aggressively for 10 minutes or so before settling down into a very organized defensive formation. Despite playing fairly deep afterwards, they looked dangerous on the counterattack with skillful and fast wide players.
And Korea has had a hard time scoring against tight defenses throughout Hong Myung Bo's lead even dating back to Olympics or even the tougher matches of the Asian Games. Players like Lee Chung Yong and Son Heung Min struggle against packed boxes as they both rely on space (although in different ways) to do their thing, and Koo's penchant for hyperactivity often results in rushed decisions in traffic.
I don't expect any changes in the starting 11. Its clear that HMB sees Lee Keun Ho as fresh legs when we need offense, as LKH may be a bit undisciplined for HMB's preference. As I mentioned, one of the big variables will be the number of yellow cards that key players are sitting on. Will it make them, Ki in particular, tentative defending?
In these sorts of matchups, I expect set pieces and avoiding mistakes as the key to winning and losing. Unfortunately, both of those have been Korea's weakness. And if not from set pieces, we need a Koo to be better in form to open up opportunities with better passing and decisions in the final third.
The balance that Korea will struggle with, more so than vs Russia or Belgium, is the need to not get too many bodies forward when frustrated. Both fullbacks like to get involved on attack which leaves spaces where Algeria has a lot of talent to exploit.
I expect a hard fought 2-1 win. If I had to predict how that would happen, I'd say a goal from open play from Korea to start, with Algeria equalizing before the half. And then finally a set piece goal at the end. And as we've seen in this tournament so far, the unexpected have been very common and so Korea will have to weather the storm if a break goes against them.
