|
|
Played
July 26, 2012 2:30 PM BST
St. James' Park — Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Referee: S. Jedidi
Attendance: 15748
July 26, 2012 2:30 PM BST
St. James' Park — Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Referee: S. Jedidi
Attendance: 15748
Mexico - South Korea Preview: Both sides look for postive start in tough Group C opener
Both sides will be desperate for three points as neither has claimed podium spot at the Olympic Games, despite entering the tournament a combined nineteen times
By Rhys Turrell
| PROBABLE LINEUPS |
|
MEXICO
 Jose de Jesus Corona Jimenez , Reyes, Mier, Chavez Salcido, Herrera, Aquino, Ponce Peralta, Fabian |
SOUTH KOREA
 Ryong Oh, Yung, Y Kim, K Kim B Kim, Ki, Koo, Han Ji, Park |
Mexico manager Luis Fernando Tena has named just one player based outside of the country in his 18-man squad for London 2012 – Tottenham attacker Giovani dos Santos.
However, the former Barcelona man looks likely to start the game on the bench as Tena weighs up a 4-4-2 that would see him fall out of the starting XI.
There is ample top-flight experience in El Tri’s probable line-up though, with former Fulham man Carlos Salcido likely to be given the nod to start in midfield.
Despite qualifying for the last seven consecutive Olympic Games, the Koreans have not made it past the quarter-final stage, and will have their work cut out once again as they come up against the Mexicans and Switzerland.
They will be looking for Arsenal man Park Chu-Young to fire in the goals, despite his lack of match action in north London.
He is one of three British-based players in coach Hong Myung-Bo’s squad, with Celtic midfielder Ki Sung-Yeung joining Sunderland forward Ji Dong-Won.
| DID YOU KNOW? |
Mexico are the highest-ranked country outside of Europe and South America at the tournament.
- Chivas de Guadalajara are the club providing the most players for the 18-man squad with four representatives.
- Former Fulham and PSV defender Carlos Salcido (pictured right) is by far the most-capped player in Les Tri's squad with 103 apps to his name.
- South Korea first competed in the Olympics the last time the Games were in London - back in 1948.
- Busan IPark have three of their players in the South Korean squad - more than any other team.
- Arsenal striker Park Chu-Young is the top goalscorer in the 18-man squad with nine goals in 22 games for his country.
| Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25 |
|
| Sign up with bet365 for a free bet up to £200 |
|
| Sign up to Paddy Power for £250 in free bets |
|
| Sign up today with Coral and get a £50 FREE bet - no strings attached! |
|
| Sign up today with BetVictor and get a £25 FREE BET! |
|
Field Report
Reader's Predictions
Top 3 Predictions
-
Mexico U-23 2-0 South Korea U-23
- 22.02 %
-
Mexico U-23 2-1 South Korea U-23
- 14.88 %
-
Mexico U-23 3-1 South Korea U-23
- 12.8 %
| Olympic Games (OLY) | Jul 26, 2012 | Mexico U-23 0 - South Korea U-23 0 |
|
Mexico U-23
  |
||
| Aug 11, 2012 | Brazil U-23 1 - Mexico U-23 2 | OLY |
| Aug 7, 2012 | Mexico U-23 3 - Japan U-23 1 | OLY |
| Aug 4, 2012 | Mexico U-23 4 - Senegal U-23 2 | OLY |
| Aug 1, 2012 | Mexico U-23 1 - Switzerland U-23 0 | OLY |
| Jul 29, 2012 | Mexico U-23 2 - Gabon U-23 0 | OLY |
South Korea U-23
   |
||
| Aug 10, 2012 | South Korea U-23 2 - Japan U-23 0 | OLY |
| Aug 7, 2012 | Brazil U-23 3 - South Korea U-23 0 | OLY |
| Aug 4, 2012 | Great Britain U-23 1 - South Korea U-23 1 | OLY |
| Aug 1, 2012 | South Korea U-23 0 - Gabon U-23 0 | OLY |
| Jul 29, 2012 | South Korea U-23 2 - Switzerland U-23 1 | OLY |
| 12 | J. Corona | Goalkeeper |
| 21 | H. Mier | Defender |
| 5 | D. Chavez | Midfielder |
| 11 | J. Aquino | Midfielder |
| 23 | D. Reyes | Defender |
| 15 | N. Vidrio | Defender |
| 16 | M. Ponce | Defender |
| 3 | C. Salcido | Defender |
| 6 | H. Herrera | Midfielder |
| - | M. Fabián | Midfielder |
| 18 | O. Peralta | Striker |
| 12 | A. Rodriguez | Goalkeeper |
| 16 | I. Jiménez | Defender |
| 17 | N. Araujo | Defender |
| 15 | Jorge Enríquez | Striker |
| - | J. Cortés | Striker |
| 10 | Giovani dos Santos | Striker |
| 18 | R. Jiménez | Striker |
| 1 | Sung-Ryong Jung | Goalkeeper |
| 3 | Suk-Young Yoon | Defender |
| 22 | Young-Gwon Kim | Defender |
| 12 | Seok-Ho Hwang | Defender |
| - | Chang-Soo Kim | Defender |
| 16 | Sung-Yong Ki | Midfielder |
| 7 | Bo-Kyung Kim | Midfielder |
| 19 | Tae-Hee Nam | Midfielder |
| 13 | Koo Ja-Cheol | Midfielder |
| 15 | Jong-Woo Park | Midfielder |
| 10 | Chu-Young Park | Striker |
| 18 | Beom-Young Lee | Goalkeeper |
| 2 | Jae-Seok Oh | Defender |
| 20 | Hyun-Soo Jang | Defender |
| 8 | Sung-Dong Baek | Midfielder |
| - | Ki-Hee Kim | Midfielder |
| - | Kook-Young Han | Midfielder |
| - | Woo-Young Jung | Midfielder |
| 10 | Dong-Won Ji | Striker |
| 17 | Hyun-Sung Kim | Striker |
| H. Herrera | |
| Position: | Midfielder |
| Squad Number: | 6 |
| Games | Goals | YC | RC |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
Pachuca midfielder Herrera will have sprung to the attention of European scouts after he won the player of the tournament award for his performances in helping Mexico win the 2012 Toulon tournament.
The 22-year-old midfielder scored a 14th-minute equaliser against Netherlands in El Tri’s 4-2 semi-final win at the competition, and played a crucial role as they defeated Turkey 3-0 in the final.
If he can carry that form into London 2012 then he may well be one of the surprise stars of the tournament.
The 22-year-old midfielder scored a 14th-minute equaliser against Netherlands in El Tri’s 4-2 semi-final win at the competition, and played a crucial role as they defeated Turkey 3-0 in the final.
If he can carry that form into London 2012 then he may well be one of the surprise stars of the tournament.
| Chu-Young Park | |
| Position: | Striker |
| Squad Number: | 10 |
| Games | Goals | YC | RC |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
The former Monaco man has hardly pulled up any trees at Arsenal since his switch last summer, but a season of adapting to the Premier League may stand him in good stead.
Aged 27, and with 59 apps for the full national side, he is the oldest and most-capped player in the South Korea squad, and that experience could prove invaluable to his side.
Aged 27, and with 59 apps for the full national side, he is the oldest and most-capped player in the South Korea squad, and that experience could prove invaluable to his side.
Both of these sides will want a win, with Under-21 European Championship runners-up Switzerland expected to be strong in the group.
The Swiss should see off Gabon in the second game of the day, so an early advantage to either the Asian side or the South Americans would hand them a key boost to qualify to the next round.
Mexico are on a high following their success at the Toulon Tournament, and that good form allied with the quality of Hector Herrara and goalscoring prowess of Marco Fabien - who notched seven times at the competition - make them favourites.
The Swiss should see off Gabon in the second game of the day, so an early advantage to either the Asian side or the South Americans would hand them a key boost to qualify to the next round.
Mexico are on a high following their success at the Toulon Tournament, and that good form allied with the quality of Hector Herrara and goalscoring prowess of Marco Fabien - who notched seven times at the competition - make them favourites.
Results
Times In BST
Live
Final
scheduled
Suspended
Cancelled
Postponed
Match News
Top Scorers
| Player | Goals | Penalties | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Leandro Damião Striker Internacional |
6 | 0 |
|
Moussa Konaté Striker Krasnodar |
5 | 0 |
|
O. Peralta Striker Santos Laguna |
4 | 0 |
|
Giovani dos Santos Striker Mallorca |
3 | 1 |
|
Neymar Striker Santos |
3 | 1 |
