It may be overly simplistic to say that South Korea are Asia’s Manchester United while Japan are the continent’s equivalent of Manchester City but there is more to it than the red and blue shirts. The first two games of the third – and decisive – round of World Cup qualification have reinforced the feeling that while the Koreans rely on their star players delivering in the big moments, the Samurai Blue are a well-oiled winning machine.
Son Heung-min certainly shone in a much-needed 3-1 win in Oman on Tuesday, scoring one and making the other two in this Group B fixture. Wolves’ Hwang Hee-chanclaimed the first as Lee Kang-in of Paris Saint-Germain pulled the strings. With Bayern Munich’s Kim Min-jae the rock in defence, there is a star-studded spine that even some of those teams ranked higher than Korea’s 23 would welcome.
Yet there is disorder in the red corner and it is not just about the lack of coherent strategy that was a feature of Jürgen Klinsmann’s year-long tenure that ended in February. Off the pitch too, there is trouble. Before, during and after the opening game against Palestine in Seoul last Thursday, fans, angry at the Korea FA for various reasons, booed the newly appointed coach and old legend of Korean football Hong Myung-bo (the 2002 captain had said he would not leave Ulsan HD, who he had led to the past two K-League titles, before eventually taking the Korea job in July).
The stars were less than impressed at the boss’s reception. Kim went over to fans at the end and asked them to tone it down before walking away shaking his head. “I was not being aggressive at all. I was just a bit disappointed that some people wanted us to fail,” he said. The skipper was also upset. “At least when we’re playing at home, we shouldn’t be creating our own enemies,” said Son. Lee said: “I can’t speak for everyone, but honestly, as a member of the national team, I find it very unfortunate that we started our match with boos.”
There weren’t many cheers at the end either. A 0-0 draw against a Palestine team ranked 72 places lower, playing their first ever game at this stage of qualification and facing all kinds of issues at home, went down badly.
Korea’s win in Oman was not a vintage performance but even among the final 18 teams in Asian qualification, there are those who struggle to live with the skills of Son, Hwang, Lee and Kim. The jeers may end if – and that is still quite an if – coach Hong can fashion a coherent style of play with a settled structure.
One like Japan’s perhaps. First there was a 7-0 thrashing of China in Saitama. The scale of the humiliation means that much of the attention was on Team Dragon’s second heaviest defeat but Japan were sublime. Whichever player comes in, the style remains the same while the team’s ability to take chances, a long-standing weakness, looks to have changed.
Tuesday’s away game came in Bahrain and a 5-0 win. It wouldn’t be a surprise if Japan won all 10 of their Group C fixtures but then they won’t need to. The top two of the three six-team groups go straight to the World Cup while those finishing third and fourth advance to the next stage where there are two more places on offer.
The victory in Bahrain was especially impressive as the hosts had just returned from a 1-0 win in Australia, prompting plenty of complaints of time-wasting and bus-parking. The Socceroos didn’t manage to score in Indonesia either, drawing 0-0 in front of 78,000 fans in Jakarta.
At least Australia aren’t bottom. Sixth and last belongs to China. If it seemed that things could not get worse after the Japan mauling, on the morning of their game against Saudi Arabia, it was announced that the Chinese FA had issued 38 life bans to players for match-fixing and gambling. It didn’t stop 48,000 fans queuing up for hours to get inside the Dalian Stadium and behind their team.
Yet despite taking the lead and playing against a team with 10 men for 70 minutes, China still managed to lose 2-1 thanks to two goals from Hassan Kadesh, a defender who had never scored before on the international stage. Both came from corners and the second arrived in the last minute. It was some reprieve for Roberto Mancini whose one year in Saudi Arabia has not been especially happy.
The sudden departure of Hervé Renard to take over the French women’s team in 2023 was a blow. The Italian replacement is almost as debonair on the sidelines but his players are not quite as effective on the pitch. Mancini has tried to give youngsters a game and has looked beyond the Big Four clubs for players but tangible progress is hard to find and criticism after a 1-1 draw at home to Indonesia in the first game was widespread. Seen as cold and arrogant by some in Riyadh, the dramatic win produced a rare smile from the manager and delighted celebrations from his players. It could be a turning point in his tenure.
In Group A, Iran and Uzbekistan have the maximum six points while the talking point is that Qatar have just the one. The 2022 hosts may be champions of Asia but all know who the real No 1 team is. It used to be South Korea but now the Blues of Japan are on top.