Sri Lanka and South Korea face off on Wednesday in World Cup Qualifying action, with the two sides having had contrasting starts to the campaign.

South Korea currently sit at the summit of the group, while their opponents are yet to collect a point from their qualifying games.

Match preview

© Reuters

At the beginning of the World Cup Qualifying campaign in 2019, Sri Lanka suffered four consecutive defeats, falling at the hands of South Korea, Lebanon and Turkmenistan on two separate occasions.

In those games, the Golden Army conceded 15 goals while failing to register a goal at the other end of the pitch.

That was largely down to their game against Wednesday's opponents, as South Korea thrashed Sri Lanka 8-0, with Kim Shin-wook netting four goals alongside a Heung Min-son brace and goals from Hwang Hee-chan and Kwon Chang-hoon.

However, Amir Alagic's side did come much closer to picking up a result on Saturday against Lebanon, upon their return to qualifying action.

Ahmed Waseem Razeek netted their first goal of the group stage to put his side 1-0 up, but a Joan Oumari brace and a Mohamad Jalal Kdouh goal turned the game on its head, while Razeek's second goal of the game on the hour mark was unable to spark a full comeback, with the encounter finishing 3-2.

While that meant they have now lost their first five qualifying games, Sri Lanka should definitely take certain positives from a game which saw them go much closer to a result than in the first four matches, and they will aim to build on that going forward.

They take on a South Korea side who have had an opposite campaign, having picked up 10 points from their opening four matches.

The Tigers of Asia returned to qualifying action with a comfortable 5-0 win over Turkmenistan in Goyang on Saturday.

A Hwang Ui-jo brace and goals from Nam Tae-hee, Kim Young-gwon and Chang-hoon sealed a dominant victory for Paulo Bento's men, maintaining their position at the top of their qualifying group.

With that victory coming alongside the dominant 8-0 win over Sri Lanka and a 2-0 win over Turkmenistan, the only slight blemish on South Korea's record is a goalless draw with Lebanon in November 2019.

That means they are yet to concede a goal in this qualifying campaign, while netting 15 goals at the other end.

As a result, Bento's side remain firmly in pole position to qualify out of the group and reach their 10th consecutive World Cup next year.

Team News

Sri Lanka midfielder Ahmed Waseem Razeek will come into this game with plenty of confidence, having netted a brace in their recent narrow defeat to Lebanon.

Goalkeeper Sujan Perera is one of their only players to ply their trade abroad, currently playing between the sticks for Club Eagles in the Maldives.

Defender Duckson Puslas also plays in the Maldives for TC Sports Club, and he will lead the defence on Wednesday.

South Korea's star man is undoubtedly Tottenham Hotspur attacker Heung Min-son, who registered 17 goals and 10 assists in 37 Premier League appearances.

The 27-year-old has featured for his nation 90 times, netting 27 goals in those games.

He is complemented well by fellow forward Hwang Hee-chan, who recently earned a move to RB Leipzig.

Meanwhile, Gamba Osaka centre-back Kim Young-gwon should play alongside Beijing Guoan's Kim Min-jae at the heart of the defensive line.

Sri Lanka possible starting lineup:
Perera; Rathnayake, Fernando, Puslas, Roshan; Ishan, Rahuman, Fazal, Supan; Waseem Razeek; Aakib

South Korea possible starting lineup:
Seung-gyu; Yong, Young-gwon, Min-jae, Chul; Woo-young, Tae-hee, Chang-hoon; Hee-chan, Min-son, Shin-wook

We say: Sri Lanka 0-4 South Korea

Despite Sri Lanka delivering their most positive performance in recent years last time out, South Korea should still have far too much quality for their opponents on Wednesday.

The collection of attacking talent, featuring the likes of Heung Min-son and Hwang Hee-chan, should comfortably get past a Sri Lanka outfit who are yet to pick up a point.

Written by
Sam Varley

Previews by email