Korea, Stielike brace for pressure over Syria match

Korea has a chance to bounce back from Thursday’s defeat and disappointment in China by seeing off Syria in Seoul on Tuesday. It is a game the Taeguk Warriors have to win for several reasons.

The first is that Korea needs the points to keep on course to qualify for the 2018 World Cup.

The top two from each group qualify automatically for the tournament, to be held in Russia. The 1-0 defeat in China keeps Korea in second with 10 points, but the team is now four points behind Iran and first place is looking almost out of reach.

Instead, Korea is looking over its shoulder with Uzbekistan one point behind and Syria two. Defeat against Syria would see Uli Stielike’s team drop to third or fourth.

To lose at home to the Middle-Easterners would be a surprise, but given the way the team has been playing, not a massive one.

“There’s no other solution to make improvements but to win,” Stielike said. “Having two losses in the final round is not a satisfying result. But we still have matches and I believe these situations will turn into positive ones in the future.”

Korea was poor in China, a team it had only lost to once in 31 meetings. Stielike was right to apologize to fans, but better than saying sorry would be to select and coach a team that can score away from home.

In three games — in China, Iran and Malaysia (where Syria plays its home games) — Korea has not scored a single goal.

All three overseas displays have been nowhere near the level the country should be at if it wants to call itself one of Asia’s elite.

“The statistics show that we’re not good in away matches, so I can’t deny that,” Stielike said. “I think our players feel too much pressure when playing outside home. It’s not a matter of their physique or technique, but I think it’s a mentality issue.”

It is easy to blame failings on the players but perhaps Stielike should be looking at his own decisions too.

Constant chopping and changing players has not helped and some of the selections are surprising, especially in attack.

Not only that, whenever things do not go the team’s way, the response seems to be to bring on the almost two-meter-tall striker Kim Shin-wook and fire high balls into the area. Sophisticated it is not, and it caused few problems for the Chinese team.

The German coach has been in place for about 30 months but his job will be under serious pressure if there is no win against Syria, despite the voice of support from Korea Football Association head Chong Mong-gyu on Friday.

At least star forward Son Heung-min returns against Syria after his one-match suspension. The Tottenham Hotspur star adds pace and unpredictability in attack, features lacking in Changsha on Thursday.

Even with Son, the game could be a frustrating experience. Syria has talent but is likely to sit deep and defend. When the two teams met in September, it ended 0-0 and the Syrians took the art of time-wasting to a level rarely seen.

Stielike said then it was not soccer. Captain Ki Sung-yeung said it was an embarrassment to Asia.

The best way to combat such tactics is to score first.

Korea needs to win, and while it is easy to say that the result is all that matters, it is also time for a good performance.