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Persianleague
- Sep 23, 2002
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After becoming the only Asian nation ever to reach the semifinals in a World Cup, South Korea expects nothing less than the gold medal in men's soccer at this year's Asian Games.

Although the Asiad team includes only four World Cup stars due to an age limit of 23, except for three wildcard players, hopes are high with powerful rivals Japan and China sending experimental teams and Saudi Arabia absent.

"We have over 80 percent chance in winning the gold," said local soccer commentator Shin Moon-sun.

Shin said the biggest threat may come from North Korea in the 24-nation competition beginning Friday, two days before the opening of the 14th Asian Games in Busan, South Korea. Six matches are scheduled for Friday, including South Korea against the Maldives.

"They have speed, concentration and physical and mental power to push on for 90 minutes," he said, recalling the goalless draw between the Asiad teams of the divided Koreas earlier this month.

Former national team coach Hur Jung-moo agrees that South Korea is expected to win the gold "without big difficulties," but warned of strong challenges from Middle East nations.

Three-time gold medalist and defending champion Iran lead the Middle East with United Arab Emirates and Kuwait.

"I'm confident that we can win the Asian Games," said head coach Park Hang-seo, who assisted Dutch coach Guus Hiddink in lifting South Korea to the semifinals in this year's World Cup.

Park's 19-man roster include two World Cup starters - goalkeeper Lee Woon-jae and midfielder Lee Young-pyo - and two World Cup substitute forwards Choi Tae-wook and Lee Chun-soo.

South Korea hopes to advance to the quarterfinals on top of Group A, which includes Malaysia, Maldives and Oman.

The quarterfinals will gather the top finishers of six, four-nation groups and two runners-up - one from rest of Group B, C and D and another from Group A, E and F.

Drawn with Afghanistan, Lebanon and Qatar in Group E, Iran hopes to win its fourth Asiad soccer gold to pacify the soccer-crazy nation disappointed by its failure to qualify to last June's World Cup in South Korea and Japan.

The 20-member team is fresh from winning last week's LG Cup against Morocco, South Africa and Paraguay.

Former Bayern Munich striker and 1998 World Cup team-member Ali Daei is expected to lead the Iranian charge.

Meanwhile, Japan will send an under-21 squad stocked with players from its professional J-League, looking to use the Busan Asiad as a stepping stone for the 2004 Athens Olympics.

Despite the lack of World Cup stars like Hidetoshi Nakata, most Japanese expect the team to survive the first round against Bahrain, Palestine and Uzbekistan in Group D.

Urawa Reds' forward Tatsuya Tanaka, one of J-League's talented young players with five goals this season, and his teammate Keita Suzuki will head Japan's offense.

China, in Group C with Bangladesh, India and Turkmenistan, set its goal at reaching the semifinals with its young team including three World Cup players - goalkeeper An Qi, defender Du Wei and forward Qu Bo.

"Our team is not as well-prepared as the other teams and our players are younger than our opponents," said China's Olympic team coach Shen Xiangfu.

China hopes to train and prepare the players for next year's Olympic preliminaries.

The United Arab Emirates is looking further - the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

"The Asian Games is the first phase of our plan and we don't expect any medals in Korea," said Mattar Al Tayer, general secretary of the country's football association.

In Group B with Thailand, Vietnam and Yemen, the Emirates' team is led by English coach Roy Hodgson, who took over in August after the Gulf nation failed to qualify for the 2002 World Cup.

Group F includes Hong Kong, Kuwait, Pakistan and North Korea, who won this year's Kings Cup against Thailand, Malaysia and Qatar in February.