Pyongyang: As the only team yet to feature in Group B of the Women’s Asian Cup Jordan 2018 qualifiers, Korea Republic are well aware that nothing less than a convincing start will suffice as they prepare to face India at the Kim Il Sung Stadium in Pyongyang on Wednesday.
Indeed, Korea Republic head coach Yoon Deok-yeo has acknowledged that the pressure is now well and truly on his side after fellow group favourites DPR Korea’s emphatic 8-0 victory over the South Asians on Monday.
“The team only arrived yesterday and one of the main priorities was to watch India’s match against DPR Korea,” the former head coach of Pohang Steelers and Gyeongnam FC told the-AFC.com.
“They are a decent side and even though they lost, India played well as a team. Obviously, we know we need a good start in the first match. There is some pressure on us, but I believe we can handle it. I don’t see any issues with us scoring more goals than DPR Korea against India. I have great confidence in our attack to score as many goals as possible.”
Following their defeat to DPR Korea, India are looking to recover quickly with a positive performance, though India head coach Sajid Yousof Dar admits that it will be daunting task considering his side are 39 places below their opposition in the FIFA World Rankings. “Korea Republic are one of the top teams in the world and they have been constantly at that level for a long time. It will be a tough match for us without a shadow of doubt, but we will be motivated, as we are competing against one of the best team in the world,” said the 42-year-old.
Meanwhile, DPR Korea head coach Kim Kwang-min is refusing to let his side rest on their laurels, but will err on the side of caution when they face Hong Kong, who are looking to rebound from their agonising 2-1 last-gasp defeat to Uzbekistan on the opening day.
“We have many new players in this team. Many of them are still new to this type of competition. I am happy with our performance against India, but this is a new game. We need to continue to play well, to adapt to this new environment so they can improve for future matches.”
Hong Kong, meanwhile appear set to deploy a defensive and compact approach to mitigate a potential DPR Korea onslaught. “DPR Korea are a fantastic team in all aspects with excellent technical, tactical, physical and mental abilities. The team just finished third in the Cyprus Women’s Cup in March and showed again yesterday that they are indeed world-class against India,” said Hong Kong coach Chan Shuk Chi.
“We were very disappointed in our last match to lose in such a manner, but we can’t deploy the same strategy against Korea Republic. We need to be tighter at the back and defend as a unit.”
Photo: AFP
Source: the-afc.com