It isn’t often that soccer steals the limelight in Australia but that will certainly be the case on Saturday if the national team beat South Korea in the final of the Asian Cup.
A sell-out crowd is expected at the ANZ Stadium in Sydney to watch Ange Postecoglou’s Socceroos bid for a first ever Asian Cup triumph. There is some debate about where the Asian Cup ranks in terms of world soccer and many would argue that qualifying for the World Cup is a far bigger achievement. Be that as it may, there is no substitute for lifting a trophy and the Aussies will be desperate to go one step further than they did in 2011. They were beaten in extra-time by Japan that year but their toughest rivals fell by the wayside at the quarter-final stage this year.
Postecoglou had come under pressure in the build-up to the competition with his side putting in some dire performances in friendlies. The goals had dried up since their brave efforts in the World Cup in Brazil but any doubts were quashed in the first group games. Australia usually rely on Tim Cahill to provide the cutting edge but ten of their players have scored at this tournament. The latest additions were Sainsbury and Davidson who each hit the target in a 2-0 semi-final win over the UAE.
Cahill is as dangerous as ever but now has the support of Leckie and Kruse as they look to break down a side that is yet to concede in the competition. The South Koreans are coached by German Uli Stieleke who made over 200 appearances for Real Madrid and represented Germany in a World Cup final. He seems to have built his side with a German mentality, proving formidable in defence and looking to hit the opposition on the counter-attack.
They employed these tactics to perfection to beat Australia in the group stages and there will be no prizes for guessing how they will line up on Saturday. Sportsbet are refunding first bets up to $100 on correct score, first goalscorer and win/score combination bets if the match goes into extra-time. With the South Koreans setting out to defend, that is perfectly possible and is well worth taking up.
Australia 1 South Korea 0 @5.50 Sportsbet
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