{"id":11886,"date":"2011-01-21T18:36:39","date_gmt":"2011-01-22T02:36:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.persianfootball.com\/news\/2011\/01\/21\/two-to-follow-iran-v-korea-republic\/"},"modified":"2011-01-21T18:36:39","modified_gmt":"2011-01-22T02:36:39","slug":"two-to-follow-iran-v-korea-republic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.persianfootball.com\/news\/2011\/01\/21\/two-to-follow-iran-v-korea-republic\/","title":{"rendered":"Two to follow: Iran v Korea Republic"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>AFC &#8211; DOHA, <strong>As Asian football superpowers Iran and Korea Republic meet at the AFC  Asian Cup quarter-finals for the fifth successive tournament,  www.afcasiancup.com looks at two players who could standout in what Iran  coach Afshin Ghotbi expects to be a classic. <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>IRAN<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Hadi Aghily<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.the-afc.com\/afc\/comps\/asian_cup\/2011\/finals\/300x200\/irn_hadi_aghili_action2_160111_3x2.jpg\" align=\"right\" height=\"200\" width=\"300\" \/>Although  rested for Iran\u2019s final match against the UAE, by which time the  three-time champions had already sealed their place in the last eight,  Hadi Aghily will almost certainly revert back to the centre of defence  for the quarter-final clash with Korea Republic. An imposing physical  presence at both ends of the pitch the Sepahan stopper, who was MVP in  Iran\u2019s 1-0 win over DPR Korea, is also the one of the highest scoring  defenders in Team Melli\u2019s history.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Javad Nekounam<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.the-afc.com\/afc\/comps\/asian_cup\/2011\/finals\/300x200\/irn_javad_nekounam_120111_3x2.jpg\" align=\"left\" height=\"200\" width=\"300\" \/>After  playing his part in the victories over defending champions Iraq and DPR  Korea that secured Iran\u2019s place in the quarter-final\u2019s head coach  Afshin Ghotbi opted to rest Javad Nekounam for the final Group D clash  against the UAE rather than risking injury to the influential  Spain-based defensive midfielder. The AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2011\u2122 is  Nekounam\u2019s third consecutive continental finals and with an international  career spanning over a decade, the 30-year-old\u2019s experience will prove  crucial as Iran continue their quest for a record fourth AFC Asian Cup  title.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>KOREA <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Koo Ja-cheol<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.the-afc.com\/afc\/comps\/asian_cup\/2011\/finals\/300x200\/kor_aus_koo_ja_cheol_celebrate_140111_3x2.jpg\" align=\"right\" height=\"200\" width=\"300\" \/>Koo  Ja-cheol has been one of the revelations of the AFC Asian Cup Qatar  2011\u2122, being named Samsung MVP in two out of Korea Republic\u2019s three  Group C matches. Ostensibly a defensive midfielder at Jeju United, Koo  has risen to the challenge of playing in an advanced position, with the  prodigiously talented 21-year-old revelling in a more attacking role  than he is used to at club level and is already the tournament\u2019s joint  top scorer. Koo netted a brace against Bahrain as well as the opener  against Australia before ensuring he scored in every group stage game  with a goal against India.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Park Ji-sung<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.the-afc.com\/afc\/comps\/asian_cup\/2011\/finals\/300x200\/kor_park_jisung_3x2.jpg\" align=\"left\" height=\"200\" width=\"300\" \/>One  of Asia\u2019s finest players whether plying his trade for club or country,  Korea Republic captain Park Ji-sung is the Taegeuk Warriors\u2019 midfield  general and consistently produces performances of energy and enterprise  and often weighs in with his fair share of goals although is yet to get  off the mark at the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2011\u2122. With a CV that boasts  appearances at World Cups and UEFA Champions League Park has the  experience to lead the Koreans to their first continental title since  1960.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>AFC &#8211; DOHA, As Asian football superpowers Iran and Korea Republic meet at the AFC&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22614,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[86],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11886","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-c13-team-melli-news"],"views":3538,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.persianfootball.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11886","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.persianfootball.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.persianfootball.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.persianfootball.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22614"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.persianfootball.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11886"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.persianfootball.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11886\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.persianfootball.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11886"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.persianfootball.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11886"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.persianfootball.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11886"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}