21st Qualifier AFC ( Asia)

The Country | The Road to FRANCE98 | The Team | Honours | Coach

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Land area:	99 314 kmē
Population:	44 8500 000
Capital:	Seoul
Main cities:	Pusan, Yangyang
System of government:	Republic
Head of state:	Kim Young-sam
Currency:	Won
Time difference:	7 h ahead Paris

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6 September 97	South Korea- Kazakhstan	3-0
12 September 97	South Korea- Uzbekistan	2-1
28 September 97	Japan - South Korea	1-2
4 October 97	South Korea - UAE	3-0
11 October 97	Kazakhstan - South Korea	1-1
18 October 97	Uzbekistan - South Korea	1-5

16 points
16 goals scored
4 goals conceded

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Goalkeeper:	SEO (age 23, 12 caps)
Defenders:	HONG (age 28, 90 caps) CHOI (age 31, 42 caps) LEE MS (age 24, 15 caps) HA (age 29, 76 caps)
Mid-field:	YOO (age 26, 38 caps) JANG (age 25, 1 caps) LEE KH (age 23, 13 caps) LEE SY (age 28, 13 caps)
Strikers:	CHOI (age 24, 15 caps) KO (age 31, 74 caps)

Number of players used during the qualifying rounds: 31

National team colours: black and red

FIFA ranking (on 16 October 1997):  34th

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• World Cup: 4 participations (1954, 1986, 1990 and 1994)

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CHA BUM-KUN
For his country's fourth consecutive appearance in a World Cup finals, Cha Bum-Kun has one thing in mind: to help South Korea gain its first ever victory, and even to qualify for the round of sixteen. Since his appointment as team coach in January 1997, Cha Bum-Kun has instilled strict discipline into his team, as well as working on his players' conditioning and mental approach to the game. His ten seasons in the Bundesliga (at Bayer Leverkusen and Eintracht Frankfurt) were excellent preparation for his current job. And so far, Cha Bum-Kun hasn't lost a single game in a World Cup qualifying match..

 

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