Its Korea again..

MALAYSIA will square off against South Korea for the second time in the Champions Challenge I in Argentina, with the previous Group A 4-2 win being rendered meaningless.
   South Korea hit a bad patch in the group stages when they lost to Malaysia and then lost 5-4 to Poland, with their only win coming against Canada 2-0.
   However, the Koreans showed mettle when they came from losing 1-2 to snatching the semi-finals slot from the jaws of Japan on a 3-2 score.
   And South Korean coach Shin Seok Kyo did not hide his joy of meeting Malaysia in the last four.
    “I made some tactical changes after being down to Japan and we won. Now we Meet Malaysia who we know is a very strong and well organises team,
   “They have many talented players who have good skills. We have to improve our performance and I trust in my young players.”
    As for Malaysian coach Paul Revington, he was not picky about his semis opponents.
    “I am pleased that we scored four goals, again. We were effective in our penalty corners, while the goal keeper (S. Kumar) and the team’s overall performance was really good in the quarter-finals. Emotionally, the team handled the situation very well, and I’m not concerned about our next rival, as I only think of preparing my team.”
     National skipper Shahrun Nabil was more pleased with the team’s upward trend after every match as Malaysia build a side for the World Cup qualifier.
    “I’m really happy as the whole team played very well in all four matches. And we know that in this tournament, the next match will be harder than the previous one. Of course we want to win this tournament, but we are focused on qualification for the World Cup.”
  Malaysia have scored four goals in every match, starting with 4-0 against Poland, 4-2 against South Korea, 4-2 against Canada and 4-1 against South Africa.
   Razie Rahim (four), Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin (four), Faizal Saari (three), Fitri Saari (1), Izwan Firdaus (1) Chua Boon Huat (1), Nabil Fiqri (1), and one which was counted as own goal against Poland.
    The strikers have scored 16 while the defenders have only let in five goals, which is also a sort of a record for the national side.
   However, they have two more matches to prove their mettle, and if they advance to the final, the likely hurdle will be hosts Argentina.
    TODAY: Semi-finals -- Malaysia v South Korea (1am, Sunday, Malaysian time); Ireland v Argentina.
    Classification (fifth-eighth): South Africa v Japan, Poland v Canada.