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Great Britain vs. South Korea Match Analysis: Craig Bellamy, England To Fall To South Korea: The entire country of England is going to be rallying behind the 2012 Great Britain men’s football team, as it tries to move on to the semifinals of the Olympics soccer tournament on Saturday night. The Brits are going to take on South Korea, a very disciplined team that is hoping to find the most success on the soccer pitches that it has found since it hosted the World Cup 10 years ago.

There was never really a doubt this year that the Great Britain side was going to be in the knockout rounds of this tournament. The men flying under the Union Jack really never had all that much to worry about, though it did have to be concerning to get just a point from the team’s opening game against Senegal. Aside from that though, there really weren’t any problems to win Group A. For South Korea though, the task was much harder. It took two scoreless draws and a narrow escape from Switzerland to be the runners up in Group B, though at least right now, the path looks at least possible to get into the Olympics Final next week.

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Coming into the Olympics, the Brits knew that their de facto England team was going to need to show some spunk in matches like this one. The Three Lions have a history of choking in major matches, and this might be no exception at the younger level as well. Leaders like Ryan Giggs and Craig Bellamy, players that have been in these types of fixtures before know what it is like to be here, but there is a big difference between playing and winning. So far, life really is good for the Brits though, especially Bellamy and Giggs, both of which have found the back of the net. Daniel Sturridge is one of the many players on this team that looks to have an impact on the senior squad in the coming years, and he has been a real offensive force, coming up with nine shots, seven of which have come on target and two of which have scored. Finding some consistency on both ends of the pitch is the key though, as this is a squad that has looked oh so good at times, and oh so bad at others.

Don’t let that No. 28 mark on the Men’s FIFA Soccer Rankings fool you. This South Korea team can play. Even at the youngest levels of soccer, a lot of these Asian countries really preach the fundamentals of the game, and at this level, that generally means fantastic defense. Needless to say, we haven’t been disappointed. Only Switzerland figured out how to get one past keeper Sungryong Jung, and even that came in a fixture that was won for the Koreans. Sure, there are just two goals to speak of, on by Bokyung Kim and one by Chuyoung Park, but the fact of the matter is that the team is committing very few fouls and is taking advantage of its limited opportunities. We saw a very similar style on the women’s side lead to a win for Japan Over Brazil on Friday, and if the bunker style of playing defense and going on counterattacks proves to be worthwhile, this could be the second straight day that we see a team from Great Britain bounced out of the soccer portion of this competition.

Great Britain vs. South Korea Match Preview & Analysis: A team from England has all of the pressure in the world on it in an international match against a team that just figures out how to play disciplined ball? This just doesn’t look good from the way that we’re looking at it for the Brits. We don’t know when and how the Koreans are going to get the job done, but the job done they will do, and that will truly disappoint all of the British fans that are going to be in attendance at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday.

Great Britain vs. South Korea Punting Tip: South Korea To Advance (+160) @ BetOnline Sportsbook

Great Britain vs. South Korea Score Prediction: Great Britain 0 – South Korea 1