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Hankooki - South Korean Olympic football
head coach Kim Ho-kon said on Monday that after getting a close look at Iran
he believes the team will prove to be tougher opponents than highly-touted
China.
``It seems like Iran are stronger than China,'' Kim said after watching a
friendly between Iran and Japan at Saitama Stadium in Japan on Sunday night.
``Throughout the game, the Iranian players outmuscled their Japanese
opponents. Their combative spirit was great.''
Iran, China and Malaysia are South Korea's Group A opponents in the final
round of the Asian qualifiers for a ticket to Athens.
``I think the playmaker who wears number 10 (Eman Mobali) is the most
threatening player,'' Kim told Yonhap News Agency. ``My assistant coach Lee
Sang-chul and I have the same idea that those are the starters (for the
Asian qualifiers). They even dominated the second half.''
Sota Hirayama, making his first start for Japan's Olympic side, opened the
scoring after 19 minutes. But 16 minutes after the break , Mobali equalized
and the game ended in a 1-1 draw.
``On the technical side, Iran have a good balance between attacking and
defending,'' Kim said. ``Attackers are actively participating in defensive
plays, while those at the back are using their bodies to check the
opponents. Their intense defending will give any team a hard time.''
Kim's team will have a match against China in Seoul on March 3 and then take
on Iran in Teheran on March 17.
Moroccan manager Madih Mustafa recently praised China, saying, ``In terms of
organization and technique, China are indeed better than Korea.'' Morocco
recently beat South Korea, but later lost to China.
The final round of the Asian qualifiers will take place from March 3 to May
12 with each group being played on a league basis. The four teams in each
group will play each other twice with the group winners advancing to Athens.
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