Asian Cup Final preview: Australia vs. South Korea

Following a very disappointing 2014, the Socceroos have done it, they have reached a second successive Asian Cup final. A 2-0 win against the UAE sealed Australia's spot in the final and another chance to win their first major trophy. South Korea will be a tough proposition, they are yet to concede a goal in the tournament, but Australia has the strongest attack and is more than capable of causing them problems as shown in the group stage match between them. Whatever happens on Saturday, the winner will be a worthy champion.

The semi finals gave us interesting insight on how each team might approach the final, their strengths and weaknesses. In their semi final, South Korea proved yet again that they are willing to give up possession, soak up pressure and counter attack quickly. I expect them to come out with the same game plan against Australia especially since that is our biggest weakness, defending counter attacks at pace. Australia's transition from attack to defence still needs a lot of work and this will be a key factor if the Socceroos are to win the match. Australia's game plan won't change, we will be looking to starve the opposition of possession so that their most dangerous players don't see much of the ball. Australia successfully did this against the UAE to shut down the tournament's most dangerous player Omar Abdulrahman. However, one thing is holding onto the ball and another is putting it in the back of the net. 

South Korea's defence has been outstanding throughout the tournament and they will be hard to break down. At the same time the Australian defence needs to be focused at all times, we can't lose concentration like we did against South Korea in the group stage and virtually gift them a chance. At the end of the day to win the match we'll need to score goals and our attackers need to create chances and finish them. Against the UAE it was two of Australia's defenders that scored the goals to make it ten different scorers for the tournament, the forwards need to start delivering again. At the same time the Socceroos need to prevent the South Korea attackers from having possession in dangerous areas, especially just outside the box where the Koreans like to play intricate one-two's and passing moves that puts them in on goal.

Three ways in which Australia will win the match:

1. Mixing it up in attack: it's obvious that South Korea have defended well throughout the tournament but Australia caused them a lot of problems in the group stage by attacking from different areas of the pitch and through various methods. They will be expecting crosses from wide areas to try to find Cahill so the key is to mix it up while making the right decisions.
2. Transitioning from attack to defence: the Socceroos must defend well as a unit, as a group and it must start from the front line. Transitioning well into defence once Australia loses the ball is important to nullify the swift counter attacks deployed by South Korea. Better yet, Australia must continue its high pressing strategy to try to win the ball back as quick as possible and turn defence back into attack.
3. Maintain focus: the goal conceded to South Korea in the group stage will be fresh in the mind of the players. A lack of concentration and communication made three players go to the one South Korean player who played a simple ball in behind and into the box which led to their goal. The Koreans are quick and technically very good, the Australians will need to be focused at all times.

Three ways in which South Korea will win the match:

1. Defend well: the current South Korean team does not have the quality of past squads which is why they have built a platform on defending solidly. The fact that they are yet to concede a goal in the tournament can't be ignored. The Socceroos are playing great attacking football and it will take a lot to stop. If South Korea are to win the match they must keep defending well.
2. Exploit the wing areas: by now it's no secret that Ange Postecoglou instructs his full backs to play as high as possible and it's that area behind them that Korea needs to exploit. Australia will have most of the ball so Korea needs to soak up the pressure, force the mistake in a dangerous area and hit quickly on the break through the wing channels.
3. Play more positively: South Korea have been more than happy to give up possession in their matches, even against weaker opposition. If they want to win the tournament they will need to impose themselves a bit more than usual on the Australians and go punch for punch. They have the quality to do it, they just need to find the confidence.

Players to watch for Australia: Mathew Ryan, Trent Sainsbury, Massimo Luongo, Tim Cahill

Players to watch for South Korea: Cha Du-Ri, Son Heung-min, Ki Sung-yueng

There's a lot at stake on Saturday night, the chance to be crowned the best nation in Asia, a spot in the Confederations Cup but above all for Australia it's our best opportunity to win our first major trophy. Endless analysis can be made before the match but the truth is that the Australian players just need to think about one thing, and that is that there would be no better feeling than winning a first major trophy at home and forever go down in Australian football history. If the players believe in themselves, think about that and play with passion we can't lose.

Australia vs. South Korea is LIVE from Stadium Australia at 8pm on Fox Sports 4 and ABC TV.

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