20.05.2010
Watch out for North Korea: Eriksson
Ivory Coast team coach Sven-Goran Eriksson of Sweden looks on during a press conference in Montreux, Switzerland. Eriksson said that his team would be facing three "difficult" matches in the first round of the World Cup, warning that North Korea could turn out to be a dark horse.
"Pay attention to North Korea. Nobody speaks about North Korea but they play good football. Physically they are better than anyone because they have been in the training camp for six months," he said.
"I think we are going to have three very difficult games, and we have to be very organised," said Eriksson.
Ivory Coast are in Group G at the June 11-July 11 World Cup finals in South Africa. They will play their first game against Portugal, before meeting Brazil and then North Korea.
Eriksson pointed out the first game is "very important... it's like the final for us."
Portugal, he said, is "always difficult" as they are "technically very good, tactically good."
Meanwhile, he also noted that Brazil is touted as one of the likely contenders for the cup. But besides the big teams, North Korea could not to be minimised, he warned.
Eriksson said from the two tapes he has viewed of international games played by North Korea, it was clear that "they are very lively."
"They are organised. Running all the time. And you can't see in the second half that they are getting tired. They are going on all the time," he added.
The former England coach pointed out that unlike players in the European leagues, the North Koreans have the advantage of managing to "finish the league when they want because of the World Cup."
"That's a great advantage," he said.
"World Cup is very much about fitness as well," stressed Eriksson.
Part of the Ivory Coast team has arrived at their training camp in Switzerland, while the rest, including captain Didier Drogba, will arrive on Monday.
Source: © 2010 AFP - Fabrice Coffrini
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World Cup 2010 / World Cup 2010 .jpg)
