91Èȱ¬

« Previous | Main | Next »

On air: Have people underestimated the Asian teams?

Post categories: ,Ìý

Ben James Ben James | 06:39 UK time, Tuesday, 15 June 2010

YOSHIKAZU TSUNO/AFP/Getty ImagesFor all the talk about before the tournament began, so far it's Asian teams which look like they've made the biggest progress.

Despite before the tournament, Japan edged out Cameroon 1-0 in what many commentators are calling .

"Japan Won!!" screamed the headline in Sports Nippon, betraying the overall sense of surprise greeting the opening win for a side that has struggled badly for goals in the run-up to the tournament.

South Korea's win against Greece on Saturday was convincing and stylish and they perhaps already have one eye .

But points out an improvement in physical strength and technical ability of both sides, as well as players with experience in the world's top domestic competitions:

For South Korea Manchester United's Park-Ji Sung and Bolton's Lee Chung-Yong are two players who perform week in week out in the Premier League and combine good technical ability with fantastic work rate.

That considered, why shouldn't the Asian teams progress in the 2010 World Cup? How far can they go in South Africa? And what can your team learn from the progress made by Japan and South Korea?

91Èȱ¬ iD

91Èȱ¬ navigation

91Èȱ¬ © 2014 The 91Èȱ¬ is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more.

This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.