Group G
France v South Korea
Kick-off 20:00 (BST)
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France, who along with England and possibly Brazil, were the most disappointing of the fancied teams in the opening round of matches, will be looking to make amends when they face South Korea in Leipzig.
Raymond Domenech‘s side, who laboured to a 0-0 draw with Switzerland in their opener, will also be looking to erase the memories of four years ago when they went home after the group stage without scoring a goal.
Domenech is considering bringing Florent Malouda into the midfield, while Vikash Dhorasoo, a second half substitute against Switzerland, could appear in the startling XI.
Franck Ribery, the man tipped to become the next Zidane for France, failed to shine in his first start for Les Bleus and is set to make way. Sylvain Wiltord, another disappointment in the opener, may also lose his place.
“We could have scored, we had chances,” Domenech said after Tuesday’s draw. “I regret that we did not take them.”
Skipper Zinedine Zidane believes that France must offer support to lone striker Thierry Henry if Les Bleus campaign is not to flounder. However, Domenech remains unconvinced.
“Zidane’s definition of a striker is perhaps different to mine,” said Domenech. “To me, anyone who finds themselves in the penalty area is an attacker.”
Nonetheless, strikers Louis Saha and David Trezeguet are in the frame as Domenech contemplates providing attacking support for Henry.
South Korea struggled to a 2-1 win over Togo on Tuesday, to put themselves in a strong position in Group G, and they are unlikely to make wholesale changes for the encounter with France.
Ahn Jung-hwan may be in line for a place in the starting XI after coming off the bench to score the winner on Tuesday.
“The introduction of Ahn proved to be a stroke of luck,” said South Korea coach Dick Advocaat, who inserted the striker at the start of the second half.
“He gave the game new impetus and made a big impact. We dominated our opponents in the second half and created a number of chances on goal.”
Advocaat’s team appears to be confident and relaxed heading into this match, and is not intimidated by the prospect of facing France.
“We are used to playing against famous defenders with big reputations,” Chun-Soo Lee, who scored the opener in the 2-1 win over Togo, said.
“It’s not a big change for us. All players have their weak spots.”
Probable teams:
France: South Korea: Woon-jae, Chong-gug, Jin-cheul, Jin-kyu, Young-pyo, Ji-sung, Lee Ho, Eul-yong, Chun-soo, Jung-hwan, Ki-hyeon.
Referee: Benito Archundia (Mexico).
