Asian Cup Preview: South Korea v Oman

Uli Stielike's side failed to taste success at the World Cup last year but have enjoyed more joy since, winning four and losing three friendlies.

However, they will start as strong favourites at Canberra Stadium with Oman ranked 24 places lower than the South Koreans.

The Gulf side are coming off a commendable Gulf Cup campaign which saw them make the semi-finals of the tournament late last year, but since then they have failed to win a game.

They were defeated 4-1 by China last Saturday in what was their final hit-out before the tournament and simply do not have the depth of their South Korean opponents.

Six of the South Korean squad ply their trade in Europe while  veteran goalkeeper Ali Al Habsi (Wigan) is the only Omani who plays outside of his home country.

However, in Frenchman Paul Le Guen, Oman possess a manager who is able to ensure his side remain well organised and compact at the back.

Whether Oman can hold out the South Koreans for 90 minutes remains to be seen, with the favourites sure to dominate possession for large periods of the game.

South Korea will most likely line up in a 4-2-3-1 formation with star man Son Heung-min, who plays his club football for Bayer Leverkusen, expected to be the main danger coming in from the left wing.

Attacking midfielder Nam Tae-hee, 23, is another exciting prospect in the South Korean line-up and will have to be well contained by the Omanis if they want to claim just their second ever win in the tournament's history.

Le Guen is known to utilise a 4-4-2 formation and he will be relying on strikers Abdulaziz Al Muqbali and Amad Al Hosni to make the most of the opportunities presented to them.

South Korea will be expecting to come away with all three points, and anything less than a win could leave them in trouble with fellow Group A sides Australia and Kuwait far from easy beats.