Korea vs. Saudia Arabia: Does it really matter for Korea?

With two heavily anticipated World Cup Qualifying matches within the next week, you’d think the Korean Republic soccer team would be full of nerves.

That’s not the case, however, for the Red Devils as the team qualified for its seventh-straight World Cup on June 6, beating the United Arab Emirates 2-0 in Dubai.

Now, the upcoming games can help build Korea prepare for 2010 and build its reputation as a team to beat in Asia, with Japan also qualifying for the World Cup last week.

“I’m really happy that we made it to the World Cup finals. We played well and we are all satisfied with a performance that saw us win and ensure a place in South Africa in 2010,” said Korea Coach Huh Jung-moo, according to a story on the Home of Asian Football Web site.

The June 10 match with Saudi Arabia comes nearly a year to the day when the 2010 FIFA World Cup kicks off in South Africa.

The Koreans can already look ahead, with stars like Ji Sung Park and Park Chu Young, who scored the first goal in Saturday’s win versus the United Arab Emirates.

Saudi Arabia, on the other hand, has 10 points in the Asian Group B standings, still needs to qualify, despite two qualification wins over both the United Arab Emirates and Iran earlier this year.

A win for Saudi Arabia, despite being third in the group standings, isn’t a far-off goal. Besides a 2-0 loss to Korea in November, Saudi Arabia’s prevailed victorious over Korea in past matches.