Both teams stunned their opponents by scoring first in their respective opening matches but could not hold on for the win. South Korea eventually played out a 1-1 draw while Algeria lost 2-1 to much- fancied Belgium. A win here for either side will give them a fighting chance to advance. A more interesting scenario though, is a draw in this match coupled with a win for Belgium against Russia in the other group game which would qualify Belgium and blow the race for second wide open.

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The South Koreans played just as expected against Russia. They were energetic and well organized defensively, but their deficiency was in scoring and coach Hong Myung Bo will want this rectified against Algeria. Park Chu Young- arguably their best forward- moved to Arsenal in 2011 but has not made the first team since. He was replaced after 56 minutes by Lee Keun Ho who only managed to score courtesy of an Igor Akinfeev howler. How Myung Bo manages to add bite to his attack remains to be seen. South Korea are far removed from the heady days of 2002 when they set off on a run to the semi finals on home soil and the present crop can only aspire to such success. Last time out in South Africa, the Taeguk warriors advanced from the group stage before they were knocked out by Uruguay in the Round of 16.

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While they have participated in three World Cup tournaments prior to this one, Algeria have never advanced past the group stage. In fact, The Red Devils did not score a single goal in the last World Cup in South Africa but have risen in prestige since then and qualified for Brazil impressively. In their opening match against tournament dark horses Belgium, the North Africans went ahead courtesy of a Sofiane Feghouli penalty but sat deep to defend after this. That proved to be their undoing as the Belgians piled on the pressure, eventually running out 2-1 winners. After the match, Coach Vahid Halihodzic said he was unhappy with the way his team sat back to defend and will look to address this in subsequent matches.

TEAM NEWS

For South Korea, midfielder Ha Dae Sung has been ruled out of the game on Sunday with a damaged ligament in his left foot. In attack, Hong Myung Bo will have to decide whether to start Park Chu Young again or give goal scorer Lee Keun Ho his spot in the starting XI.

Algeria played well for the greater part of the game against Belgium and coach Vahid Halihodzic will look to continue with the same lineup. Valencia midfielder Sofiane Feghouli is Algeria’s most creative player and will be given the freedom to attack the Asians at will.

Probable Line ups

South Korea (4-2-3-1) : Sung- Ryong; Suk- Young, Young- Gwan, Jeong- Ho, Lee Young, Sung- Yueng, Kook- Young; Heung- Min, Ja- Cheol, Chung- Yong; Chu- Young

Algeria (4-3-3) : M’Bolhi; Ghoulam, Medjani, Halliche, Bougherra; Taider, Mostefa, Bantaleb; Mahrez, Soudani, Feghouli

PREDICTION

Both teams managed to score in their respective opening matches and I expect them to do the same here but they are pretty evenly matched, at least on paper so a score draw makes sense.

South Korea 1 – 1 Algeria