Lee promises heroics
Afp, Leverkusen
Masterful shot-stopper Lee Woon-Jae has pledged to put his body on the line to prevent the Thierry Henry led French attack from scoring against South Korea in their vital Group G encounter on Sunday in Leipzig. Veteran Lee, the South Korean captain who will gain his 99th cap against France, said that he would use every part of his 1.82 metre frame to protect his goal. "If I cannot save the ball with my hands, then I will use my feet, I will use my body - all different parts of my body," said Lee, who was a hero for South Korea in the penalty shoot-out victory over Spain in 2002, which took the co-hosts to the World Cup semi-final. "I will give 100 per cent effort in the match against France." Lee said that the squad had been motivated from their first training session in South Korea and confidence was coursing through the players with the 2-1 win over Togo under their belt. The Koreans top Group G ahead of France and Switzerland, who drew their opener 0-0, making Sunday's game a virtual must-win fixture for the 1998 World Cup winners. "France is a world class team which plays at a high level," added the 33-year-old Lee, who has conceded 87 goals in his 98 games for South Korea. "We have not talked too much about tactics yet, we have been focusing on recovery from the Togo match. "I am sure the head coach (Dick Advocaat) has something prepared tactically. Once he gives us the instruction, we will try and carry it out." Advocaat has played down South Korea's chances against France without ruling out a 'surprise result' and the Dutch mentor said that the pitch conditions could play a big part in the outcome. "It is better for France if the grass is watered or it is raining," said Advocaat, who steered Holland to the quarter-finals of the 1994 World Cup. "We have to slow down the game because they have too much skill and too much pace, it is better for us when the pitch is dry." Advocaat, who is expected to play a defence-minded 4-3-3 formation and rely on hitting France on the break, has emphasised to his players that winning the one-on-one challenges and pressuring France was the only route to victory. "We have to be realistic - for all positions France have two world class players. In that way we do know what to expect," said Advocaat, nicknamed the 'Little General' during his time with the Dutch squad. "You can expect a France side that will be very up for this game. We have to react to that. If we can pressurise them a bit and make life a little bit hard like Switzerland did, so we can surprise them maybe in that way." Switzerland plays Togo in the other Group G match in Dortmund on Monday.
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