Written by Rick John Henry for @Hollywoodbets. Follow them both on Twitter and Facebook now!
South Korea vs Belgium | Thursday 26 June | Arena Corinthians, Sao Paulo | 22:00
On account of Korea’s dreadful performance against a hungry Algerian side, eventually succumbing 4-2 in a match in which the Asian side rarely looked threatening, they now face the prospect of needing three points against the group leaders to have a slight hope of progression. It is indeed an infinitesimal chance; the Koreans will need to win in raucous style in order to overturn their negative goal difference. Belgium have looked largely unremarkable in sizable portions of their two matches, late second-half goals rescuing the Red Devils from group mediocrity. With Belgium’s wealth of English Premier League talent making them the neutral’s favourite at this year’s tournament, and having already booked a place in the last sixteen, a strong showing here could be all the side needs to kick on at Brazil 2014.
To Win (90mins)
South Korea 38/10
Draw 5/2
Belgium 15/20
South Korea
A far cry from the Korean side that stole the world’s collective heart in their home World Cup in 2002, reaching the semi-finals a dozen years later seems a ridiculous notion. To be honest, they have been abject in this tournament. First they failed to capitalise on the gift presented Lee Keun-ho by Russian goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev, his error leading to an underserved Korean lead. It was an advantage that Korea could only sustain for six minutes before they leaked the equaliser and two points from within their grasp. They only managed a shot on target in the fiftieth minute of that match and lone striker Park Chu-young, out of favour for three seasons at Arsenal, was ineffective and replaced early. He was again substituted against Algeria and Korea may consider starting with the more enterprising Lee Keun-ho. The Koreans’ lightweight defence was exposed time and time again against Algeria and having already shipped five goals at Brazil 2014, will have their hands full against Belgium’s skillful front line.
Belgium
Although the tournament dark horses have claimed maximum points from their first two World Cup fixtures, they have been far from the exciting article many expected to touch down in Brazil. A team that has natural pace in so many areas of the park have looked sluggish and tentative with the ball at their feet. A penalty conceded to Algeria left them trailing at the break, before the introduction of Marouane Fellaini and Dries Mertens changed the course of the game. Indeed, it took another substitute to turn over the stubborn Russians, Divock Origi emerging with the winner late in the game to send Belgium through to the knockout stages. Origi, merely nineteen years of age, plays his club football at Lille and has impressed off the bench in place of the struggling Romelu Lukaku. He may get the nod to start here, although manager Marc Wilmots might see this as an opportunity for Lukaku to gain some much-needed confidence. If Wilmots does decide to rest some key players, the likes of Kevin Mirallas and Adnan Januzaj may be useful additions to inject some pace into the flagging Belgian set-up.
VERDICT: Belgium 15/20
With the expected changes to Wilmots’ side, I fancy Belgium to play with a tad more freedom against a Korean team that leaked goals heavily against Algeria. Eden Hazard needs a big match; a player of his stature should’ve impressed at the tournament already. Belgium seemed relatively organised defensively against Russia, with captain Vincent Kompany in particular a stand-out. Expect them to shut down Korean counter-attacks while looking to control possession in the middle of the park. At the price, they’re worth the strike.
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