TEAM NEWS
South Korea will be without captain Ki Sung-yueng, who has a calf strain. Coach Shin Tae-yong knows his side have to win so may pick an attacking line-up as a result.
Germany are without Jerome Boateng after his red card against Sweden, but fellow central defender Mats Hummels is fit again after a neck injury.
Midfielder Sebastian Rudy has been ruled out after having an a minor operation on his nose after he fractured it against Sweden.
KOREA LINE UP
23 Hyun-Woo Cho (Goalkeeper)
2 Yong Lee (Defender)
5 Young Sun Yun (Defender)
19 Young-Gwon Kim (Defender)
14 Chul Hong (Defender)
17 Jae Sung Lee (Midfielder)
15 Woo-Young Jung (Midfielder)
20 Hyun Soo Jang (Defender)
18 Seon-min Mun (Midfielder)
13 Ja-Cheol Koo (Midfielder)
7 Heung-Min Son (Midfielder)
GERMANY LINE UP
1 Manuel Neuer (Goalkeeper)
18 Joshua Kimmich (Defender)
15 Niklas Süle (Defender)
5 Mats Hummels (Defender)
3 Jonas Hector (Midfielder)
6 Sami Khedira (Midfielder)
8 Toni Kroos (Midfielder)
14 Leon Goretzka (Midfielder)
10 Mesut Özil (Forward)
11 Marco Reus (Midfielder)
9 Timo Werner (Forward)
OVERVIEW
Never write off the Germans. Toni Kroos’ spectacular and dramatic late winner against Sweden kept their hopes of becoming the first team to retain the World Cup since Brazil in 1962 firmly alive.
But they have a long way to go before they can seal a place in the last 16, let alone dream of another final on 15 July. The permutations of what they need to do could be complex, but in simple terms Joachim Low’s side must beat South Korea by two or more goals or better Sweden’s result to guarantee qualification.
Their win over the Swedes has been tarnished somewhat by the unsavoury touchline scenes that marred their celebrations after Kroos’ goal. The German Football Association (DFB) has suspended two members of staff following the angry exchanges that occurred between both benches.
South Korea are the only side at this World Cup to have lost their first two games but to still be in with a shout of qualifying, albeit a very, very slim one.
VIEW FROM BOTH CAMPS
South Korea head coach Shin Tae-yong: “We have systemic problems. We must think how we can improve our domestic league and work with young players. We lack experience and that doesn’t come overnight.”
Germany head coach Joachim Low: “We have a lot of alternatives, that is the structure of our squad. It is about using all possibilities. Those players who did not play will definitely still be needed.
LAWRO’S PREDICTION
I could not believe how bad Germany were against Mexico but they showed why they are world champions with the way they rescued themselves so late on with their win over Sweden.
They surely won’t have any more slip-ups this time, against a South Korea side who have been beaten in both their games so far.
Prediction: 0-2
Source: BBC News
