South Korea dream on, eye win against Uruguay (Feature)

By Veronica Sardon Jun 23, 2010, 11:43 GMT

Durban - South Korea are thrilled by their historic away-from-home advance to the World Cup's Round of 16 and are not scared of taking on Uruguay.

'I think it will be a 50-50 situation,' coach Huh Jung-moo said after securing a second-round place late Tuesday.

And as South Korean fans celebrated in Seoul and the country's media hailed a new era of fulfilled dreams for the so-called Taeguk Warriors, the players kept their feet on the ground and their eyes on the ball.

'We have to prepare well,' said star midfielder Park Ji Sung.

The South Koreans know that the task ahead will be difficult. Uruguay are a tight, defensive side with efficient strikers. They did not concede any goals in their group matches and will be hard to beat. But the Koreans are brimming with confidence.

'It will depend on who controls the flow of the game on match day,' Huh said.

The coach fancies his men's chances, since they have adapted well both to the tricky Jabulani ball and to conditions in South Africa, with matches being played at varying altitudes.

The South Koreans, he stressed, are now 'a little bit closer' to the top of global football, and they have several players with experience in Europe who can pass on their knowledge to team-mates who do not regularly play away from home.

Huh and his players have already done their homework by watching several Uruguay matches during the World Cup.

'Among the South American teams, Uruguay are particularly known for their tough play and power. They have a number of excellent players,' Huh said after their decisive 2-2 draw against Nigeria.

The South Koreans highlighted the importance of Uruguay strikers Diego Forlan and Luis Suarez.

But Huh stressed they will be 'well-prepared' for anything Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez and his men have to offer when the two sides meet in Port Elizabeth on Saturday.

For now, South Korean players have already secured a prize of up to 140,000 dollars each for their historic achievement of making it to the knockout stages.

And the government is reportedly considering exempting members of the squad from otherwise-mandatory military service, which might allow some players to move abroad more easily to develop their play.

But the Taeguk Warriors want more: they want to keep replicating their performance of 2002, when South Korea hosted the World Cup along with Japan. At the time, they reached the Round of 16 for the first time in their history, but they then built on that to go as far as the semi-finals.