The World Cup group stage has been wildly entertaining so far in Brazil, and the first group of matches concludes with Russia and South Korea wrapping up Group H. Both teams have designs on making it to the next round and this game will give someone a big advantage going into their second game.
World Cup Odds: Russia -105, South Korea +305, Draw +245
Why Russia Can Win
Russia’s biggest weapon is on the bench, where manager Fabio Capello’s style suits the Russians just fine. This is a tough group to break down and Capello looks to play a more conservative style anyway, although he does have some offensive talent. He was quite solid as a player for Italy, but Capello has been an incredible manager and a title at a major tournament is the only thing he needs on his resume. Thinking that Russia will win the World Cup might be a bit much, but Capello is a master motivator and with Russia hosting the next World Cup, the team needs to get to the next round.
Even though captain Roman Shirkov is injured, Russia still has a few good to very good players, starting with Alan Dzagoev, who burst onto the scene at Euro 2012, but hasn’t lived up to the expectations. He is still only 23, but Russia needs him to support strikers Aleksandr Kokorin and Aleksandr Kerzhakov. Sergei Ignashevich leads a solid defense with Igor Akinfeev in goal.
Why South Korea Can Win
South Korea has some quick players that are going to be dangerous on the counterattack, and up front, they have some decent options in Park Chu-Young, Lee Keun-Ho and Son Heung-Min. South Korea has a trio of 25-year-old midfielders in Koo Ja-Cheol, Lee Chung-Yong and Ki Sung-Yueng who are going to have to hold their own in midfield because the defense is a little shaky and missing Kim Jin-Su as well. However, keeper Jung Sung-Ryong has 61 caps and should be able to keep the defense in line.
This is a program used to being here as they have made eight trips in a row to the World Cup, and manager Hong Myung-Bo is getting better after taking the U-23s to the bronze medal at the Olympics two years ago. He went to four World Cups and knows what it is like to be here. This is a team to be wary of.
Outlook
These countries have met just once as Russia claimed a 2-1 victory in November, so there is some familiarity with the teams. But there is much more on the line in this game and it is going to be interesting to see how the teams line up; who is going to go for the win and who will sit back and aim for a draw, or at least look to hit the opposition on the counterattack? This figures to be a conservative match and while we have had a number of goals so far in the World Cup, this looks like a goalless draw.
Pick: Draw
