Brazil - Korea, strong attack, strong opponent

The 2012 Olympic men's football semi-final at Old Trafford at 1:45 am tomorrow (Hanoi time) will be a match between the tournament's best attacking team and the tournament's most solid defensive team. Brazil U23 comes to the 2012 Olympics with the strongest possible squad and an undisguised desire - to win the first set of men's football gold medals in history.

What coach Mano Menezes and his team showed in London was a strong testament to their strength and great desire, as well as their position as the number one candidate for the top spot, winning all four matches, scoring three goals in each match.

Brazil have the tournament's best attack and the tournament's second-best scorer - Leandro Damiao, who has four goals.

Another win at Old Trafford today would take Brazil into the final and move them closer to their ultimate goal at the Olympics.

However, ahead of them is a difficult challenge to overcome when Brazil's opponent is South Korea, the Asian team that just resiliently eliminated host England from the game with a 5-4 victory in the penalty shootout in the quarter-finals.

South Korea may not be impressive in attack - they have scored just three goals in four games - but they have the best defensive record in the tournament, having conceded just two goals heading into the semi-finals.

Solid defense, minimizing risks to the goal and taking full advantage of opportunities from quick counter-attacks are the guiding principles that help Korea become a phenomenon at the 2012 Olympic men's football event.

That style of play promises to turn Korea into a strong test, to test Brazil's strength in attack as well as the concentration and tightness in defense of the number one candidate.

Brazil scored 12 goals in the tournament, but all of them were against opponents who were not very strong in defense, and even played very naively, like New Zealand.

Meanwhile, Brazil's defense has continuously given fans heartaches by conceding five goals in four matches.

South Korea (white shirt) defended very impressively.

The system error, or in other words, the attacking tactics applied by coach Menezes, could be a reason why Brazil has conceded at least one goal in three of the last four matches against Egypt, Belarus and Honduras.

But the Brazilian players themselves participating in the defense system also did not maintain the best concentration when catching people and did not show the necessary determination in blocking situations.

Such defensive lapses have occurred frequently in the past four matches, but Brazil still won thanks to their excellent attack. However, if their attack is helpless against the solid fortress that South Korea has built in front of the goal, Menezes and his team will have reason to worry when they face off today.

Expected starting lineup:

Korea U23: Lee - Oh, Young, Y Kim, K Kim - B Kim, Ki, Koo, Han - Ji, Park
U23 Brazil:Neto - Rafael, Juan, Thiago Silva, Marcelo - Sandro, Romulo - Oscar - Hulk, Damiao, Neymar

According to VnExpress.net - DT