Uli Stielike reckons there are a few places up for grabs in his Korean squad ahead of the World Cup qualifiers and he would be closely watching his young players in action versus Uzbekistan to identify the individuals who are capable of filling those places.
Stielike has made it clear that he is not going to make the wholesale changes to the squad that took part in the Asian Cup earlier this year, but, he would be adding a couple of young players based on the basis of the performances in the Uzbekistan game.
Uli Stielike reckons there are a few places up for grabs in his Korean squad ahead of the World Cup qualifiers and he would be closely watching his young players in action versus Uzbekistan to identify the individuals who are capable of filling those places.
Stielike has made it clear that he is not going to make the wholesale changes to the squad that took part in the Asian Cup earlier this year, but, he would be adding a couple of young players based on the basis of the performances in the Uzbekistan game.
In Asian Cup that had taken part at the start of this year, Korea had finished the runners up losing to Australia in the title game by a slender margin.
But, with their overall showings in that tournament, the Korean players showed that they were going from strength to strength under Stielike.
Speaking on the eve of the Uzbekistan friendly, Stielike said, “We went about our job pretty well there in Australia, but, we would have loved to have come first. You never aim for the second spot. It’s always the silverware that matters.”
“Most of the team is going to be the same. A couple of changes maybe, there are some impressive young players. I am going to have my eyes on them. I have given them the call up just to see what they have got and if they are good enough or not right now for this level.”
South Korea had last faced Uzbekistan in the Round of 8 in Asian Cup and had won by 2-0.
It was actually not a convincing win for South Korea even if the margin suggests otherwise. The game was neck and neck, but, Uzbekistan ran out of gas in the extra 30 minutes.