World Cup 2022: Plucky UAE Look to Pull Off Surprise in South Korea

Korea Republic vs United Arab Emirates

South Korea are still well on course to qualify for the World Cup 2022 in Qatar. They are currently in second spot in Group A and remain undefeated in their first four games.

However, they have yet to deliver a convincing win in those four games and have struggled to impress going forward.

The Taeguk Warriors will look to turn on the style and score a bit more goals when they host the United Arab Emirates in Goyang.

But the UAE, who are now under the guidance of former World Cup finalist Bert van Marwijk, will be keen to defy the World Cup 2022 betting odds against the South Koreans to keep their hopes of qualifying for Qatar alive.

Talking Points

South Korea still struggling to score

Son Heung-min and Co. are keen to beat UAE to secure their spot in the World Cup 2022 — Son Heung-min celebrates as he scored South Korea’s opening goal against Iran during their qualifier at Azadi Sports Complex

South Korea have had a solid but unspectacular start to the third round of AFC World Cup qualifying. They are in second place after two wins and two draws in their first four games and are currently two points behind leaders Iran.

Despite their impressive talent in attack, the Asian giants have scored just four goals in those four games, half of which coming from captain and superstar striker Son Heung-min. Son scored the late winner in their 2-1 triumph at home against Syria, as well as the opening goal in their 1-1 draw against Iran at Tehran last time out, which was a decent result.

Paulo Bento’s side could clearly do with a more convincing win against the United Arab Emirates in Goyang. However, he must do so without a couple of key players in veteran defender Kim Young-gwon and striker Hwang Ui-jo.

Even without Kim Young-gwon, South Korea should still be relatively solid at the back and maintain their strong defensive record. They have conceded just two goals in four games thus far.

But the absence of Hwang – who has 14 career international goals in 40 caps – will be a major blow. And instead of bringing back talented 20-year-old Lee Kang-in to the squad, Bento opted to give Kim Gun-hee, who has no international cap to his name, a surprise call-up.

That will put even more pressure on Son and Hwang Hee-chan to carry a South Korean attack that was already highly reliant on their goals.

UAE’s World Cup hopes fading

The United Arab Emirates’ chances of making the World Cup for the first time since 1990 are not looking all that great at the moment. They are currently in fourth place with three points – two behind Lebanon for the play-off place – after three draws and one defeat in their first four games.

The UAE failed to pick up wins against Syria and Iraq, which are disappointing World Cup 2022 results from their perspective. They even needed a late equaliser from star man Ali Mabkhout to avoid a home defeat to Iraq.

Mabkhout, the country’s all-time leading scorer with 78 goals in just 96 games, has scored two of the team’s three goals thus far in this third qualifying round.

Mabkhout will continue to be the UAE’s primary goal threat against South Korea, with naturalised Brazilians Fabio Lima and Caio Canedo offering support.

Although, it seems highly unlikely that Bert van Marwijk will be that adventurous with his tactics in South Korea. The Dutch coach used a very defensive 4-5-1 formation at home against Iran, which led to a narrow 1-0 defeat.

Van Marwijk, who led the Netherlands to the World Cup final in 2010, only has that one loss in his first 11 games in his second stint as UAE coach, with five wins and four draws.

History

South Korea and the UAE have met 21 times in total, with former unsurprisingly dominating the matchup. The Taeguk Warriors have won 13 of those games, with the UAE winning just twice.

The two sides last met in a friendly in 2015, with the South Koreans winning 3-0. They also faced off in World Cup qualifying four times from 2008 to 2011, and the South Koreans won all four games as well.

Betting Tip

	Korea Republic vs United Arab Emirates	Under 2.25 @ 1.72
	November 11, 19:00 (GMT+8)

SBOTOP odds have South Korea priced as 1.51 favourites at home, with the United Arab Emirates pegged at 5.20. Meanwhile, a draw is at 3.75.

The absence of one of South Korea’s three best forwards will be a huge blow since they rely so much on them to make things happen in attack.

It will now be up to Son and Hwang to break down what is likely to be quite a defensive UAE formation away from home. The two Premier League stars should be able to find a way eventually to score and give South Korea the home win, but I do not expect too many goals between the two sides in Goyang.