North Korean striker Jong Tae-se was battling with a throng of reporters in the bowels of Seoul World Cup Stadium after the 0-0 World Cup qualification draw. He was obviously not enjoying himself. No sooner had he been presented with a bunch of CDs from South Korea’s finest bands, he then had to field questions such as “Have you been to Lotte World?” The Kawasaki Frontale goalgetter grimaced, closed his eyes, and replied that he had not, in fact, seen the theme park in south-east of Seoul. “The People’s Rooney” is a star in the south and obviously unused to the attention of the press. The same could be same about defenders. Watched more carefully than before, Jong battled hard but got little change out of Lee Jung-soo and Kang Min-soo in the centre of the home backline. It was a friendly occasion. The home fans applauded the northern anthem, one of the very few times it has been heard in public south of the 38th Parallel. The match was played in good spirits though at the end it was noticeable that, unlike at Shanghai on March 26, the DPRK players applauded their fans only and not the Red Devils. The Taeguk Warriors paid respects to both sets of fans. The game was dull. North Korea preserved their impressive record of not conceding a goal in the group. The closest that came to being ruined was in the second half when Park Chu-young missed a glorious chance near the penalty spot. The visitors threatened little. Jung was quiet as was Hong Yong-jo. Ri Kwang Chon went the closest with a second half header. That was about as exciting as it got the 48,000 fans in the stadium. 40,000 tickets had been sold relatively quickly but once it became apparent that both teams had already qualified for the next stage, not many more people thought that traveling to the north-west edge of Seoul for a game that would finish around 10 pm on a Sunday was something they wanted to do. North Koreans can be surly visitors. At the airport, just a few ‘nice to meet yous’ and ‘we will do our bests’ and that is it as far as talking to the media is concerned until after the match itself. If you have a chance to chat to the DPRK’s overseas players individually, not possible while they are on national team duty in the south, they are friendly and full of questions but as a team, they give as much away off the pitch as the defence does on it. Due to the unique political situation between the two nations, arranging such games is a headache, especially for officials south of the border. Multiple meetings take place in Kaesong to thrash things out but even just four days before kick-off, a KFA official told me that he thought the North Koreans would ‘probably’ come. So, the thought of doing it all again would probably not be well-received in Seoul or Pyongyang. Maybe Jong will have to wait a little longer to sample the delights of ‘Lotte World.’ Copyright: John Duerden & Soccerphile.com Bet with Bet 365 World Soccer News Soccer betting tips Soccer Books & DVDs Tags Soccer News soccer football J-League K-League Betting

The Rainy Season arrived in Seoul on Wednesday, 24 hours before the North Koreans were due to touch down. Skies above the peninsula were more threatening than a Dutch counter-attack. The ‘Sunshine Policy’ of recent South Korean governments in regards to the communist North Korea had its critics who claimed that all the warmth was flowing one-way only. Last weekend however, the roles were reversed as the North Korean national soccer team did its southern counterpart a big favor during qualification for the 2010 World Cup. Fans in Seoul will get a chance to show their appreciation on Sunday night as north and south do battle at the Seoul World Cup Stadium. DPRK defeated Jordan 2-0 in Pyongyang early last Saturday evening. That result meant that the team was certain of a top two finish in Group Three and a place in the final round of qualification which starts in September. It also ensured that it would be joined by South Korea. It was a pleasant piece of news for the Taeguk Warriors four hours before they took the field against Turkmenistan. The fact that both Koreas are through with one game to spare in Group Three means that Sunday’s match will be lacking a competitive edge that could otherwise have made it very interesting. The two coaches won’t mind that one bit. It is an extra game and a welcome chance to iron out some of the rough spots that had become apparent during the previous four matches. For the south, there was another bonus against Turkmenistan – the three goals from midfielder Kim Do-heon. It was a ray of sunshine at the end of a week that had seen Park Ji-sung experience knee problems. Kim, drafted into the team to replace the Manchester United man, was the star of the show in the Olympic Stadium in Ashgabat. The three goals will also have been well-received in England at Kim’s club, Premier League new boys West Bromich Albion. Now the sometimes shaggy-haired midfielder deserves to keep his place in the team for the ‘Korea Derby’ regardless of whether Park recovers. “It’s my wife’s birthday tomorrow and I wanted to give a present to our baby that will be born soon,” Kim told reporters. “It was a nice victory and it is good that now there is no pressure on us for the North Korea match.” Kim returned to Seoul on Sunday, in time to share seaweed soup with his wife and four days before the North Koreans. There were concerns they would never arrive and even now, FIFA and Korean Football Association (KFA) will breathe a sigh of relief when the plane from Beijing touches down in Incheon. The first inter-Korean match that was due to take place in Pyongyang in March 26 was relocated to Shanghai following a row over the playing of national anthems and the flying of flags. The South Koreans have demonstrated in recent years, especially at the 2005 East Asian Championships, that they don’t have a problem with the North Korean flag fluttering in the Land of the Morning Calm. Despite that the north still wasn’t too keen. In April, it was first reported that it wanted FIFA to move the game. Last week, the beef protests in Gwanghwamun provided another opportunity. Officials said they were concerned about the safety of their players, even the vegetarian ones. Once again, it was requested that Saturday’s game be relocated from Seoul to a third country or Jeju Island, famous for its pork. Once again, the KFA, backed by FIFA, refused and Huh Jung-moo was able to start focusing on the game. “North Korea is a very defensive team,” Huh Jung-moo said on Tuesday, pointing out that it had yet to concede a goal in five qualification matches. “We need to break through their defence line but also watch out for their counter-attacks.” Such sorties will likely be led by Jong Tae-se. For most southern fans it is the first chance to take a look at North Korea’s star striker. Jong, dubbed “The People’s Rooney” was born to South Korean parents in Japan and scored against his parents’ homeland in February at the East Asian Cup. “I am ready to show what I can do in Seoul,” he told reporters last week. “We are looking to win.” It doesn’t matter who wins now. It is all about getting ready for the next round. Copyright: John Duerden & Soccerphile.com Bet with Bet 365 World Soccer News Soccer betting tips Soccer Books & DVDs Tags Soccer News soccer football J-League K-League Betting

“I couldn’t understand it” said South Korean coach Huh Jung-moo last Saturday night. He wasn’t alone. Around 55,000 people in Seoul World Cup Stadium were also scratching their heads and shouting their disapproval after watching the national team somehow allow Jordan to come back and draw 2-2 in a qualification match for the 2010 World Cup. It had looked so good –the situation that is. The performance was nothing special but early in the second half, South Korea was leading 2-0 thanks to a goal from Manchester United’s Park Ji-sung that brought the house down and then a penalty from Park Chu-young that seemed to have brought the curtain down on the fixture with the middle-eastern team ranked 104 in the world by FIFA. Then it all went wrong. Substitute Hasan Abdel-Fattah scored with Jordan’s second attack of the match after 72 minutes. Then the Korean players lost their heads and shape. Seven minutes later, the whole Korean backline may as well have been at the anti-US beef protests in downtown Gwanghwamun for all the good they did in allowing Hasan to stroll through the middle and export something of his own that sent the visitors crazy. It was a hugely disappointing end. A win would have seen Korea take control of the Group Three at the halfway stage. The top two progress to the final round of qualification. Seoul debutant’s Lee Jang-soo and Lee Chung-young did enough to keep their places though the former will be told to keep his place at the back when you are defending a 2-1 lead with ten minutes to go. For the rest, there is much for coach Huh to ponder. Fortunately, he and the players can make amends quickly. The two teams meet again in Jordan on Saturday. A defeat in Amman would put Korean hopes of a seventh successive World Cup appearance in danger. For so long have the Taeguk Warriors appeared on the global stage every four years that it is taken for granted. With players such as Park Ji-sung, Lee Young-pyo, Kim Do-heon and others, perhaps that is to be expected but the last 20 minutes of the Jordan match was a wake-up call that qualification through Asia, is getting tougher all the time. After saying last week that Jordan was nothing to be scared of, coach Huh seems to have changed his tune. “Jordan is strong. There are no nations easy to play against and the away match will be a tough one for us to handle.” It will be. Instead of arriving in Amman four points clear of their rivals, the gap is just a point. Jordan will be even happier after witnessing the way Korea crumbled under pressure in the final 20 minutes. King Abdullah International Stadium is expected to be sold-out with 54,000 people hoping to see stars such as Park Ji-sung and Ahn Jung-hwan leave empty-handed. Three and a half years ago, South Korea crashed 2-0 in Saudi Arabia in a match that became known as ‘ The Damman Shock’ . An ‘Amman shock’ would be much more serious. copyright: John Duerden & Soccerphile.com Bet with Bet 365 World Soccer News Soccer betting tips Soccer Books & DVDs Tags Soccer News soccer football K-League Betting