It has not been easy keeping track of what has been going on in the build-up to this afternoon's game in Lyon but the two managers, one apparently egged on by the other, have opted to keep training sessions closed. Neither has named a team and, in the case of Korean coach Cha Bumkun, it is starting to look as if the man is either a genius or a good old fashioned eejit. This afternoon should go a long way towards revealing which.
The Korean boss has never been one to shy away from controversy but when he told the press corps yesterday that he planned to leave out both Seo Jung-won, who plays his club football with Strasbourg, and main striker Choi Yong-soo, there was a consensus that he may have been the one pulling the strings in the economy over the last couple of months.
The pair, he said, would be kept on the bench as "jokers in the pack". If he's not bluffing it sounds like a bold gesture but, more than that, it sounds downright stupid. Apart from this tactical posing Cha Bum-kun didn't give a whole lot away. However, he did admit that the highly promising teenager Ko Jong-soo would start on the left hand side of midfield with Kim Do-hoon up front.
What is more important is who the other striker will be. Although Hwang Sun-hong, who has scored 45 international goals, will be given every chance to show he has recovered from a knee injury, he may be omitted for the first game.
Manuel Lapuente has been equally guarded about his side's build up remarking only that "our preparation has been good, the team is in great shape mentally and physically and they will sleep well tonight" after watching them in training. Unlike his opposite number, Lapuente should have a full squad to choose from but, even against a team that has yet to win a game in the finals, his side will have to show considerable improvement on their recent showings if they are to threaten Holland or Belgium.
MEXICO (probable): Perez, Sanchez, Carmona, Villa, Terrazas, Bernal, Pelaez, Lara, Blanco, Garcia, Hernandez.
SOUTH KOREA (probable): Byung-ji, Taeyoung, Ming-sung, Myung-bo, Sang-hun, Sangyoon, Do-keun, Sang-chul, Sung-yong, Yongsoo, Sun-hong.
Referee: Gunter Benko (Austria).
