Saudi Arabia and South Korea meet at the AFC Asian Cup knockout rounds for the first time since 2000 with the two facing off at Education City Stadium on Tuesday for their round of 16 clash. The Green Falcons finished top of Group F while the Taegeuk Warriors came second in theirs for the first time since 2011. Roberto Mancini's men are unbeaten in eight games across all competitions and a win here against Jurgen Klinsmann's side would be a first knockout win for the Saudis since 2007. The Koreans are unbeaten against Saudi Arabia though since 2005 and the last time that they faced each other at the AFC Asian Cup knockout stage was the semifinals in 2000. Klinsmann is under pressure and will not be buoyed by the fact that they have not beaten the Saudis in the competition, although they have kept clean sheets in all of their last four encounters at any level against the same side.
Here's our storylines, how you can watch the match and more:
Golazo Starting XI Newsletter
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How to watch and odds
- Date: Tuesday, Jan. 30 | Time: 11 a.m. ET
- Location: Al Thumama Stadium -- Doha, Qatar
- Watch: CBS Sports Golazo Network
- Odds: Saudi Arabia +340; Draw +250; South Korea -150
Team news
Saudi Arabia: Ali Al-Bulaihi and Salem Al-Dawsari were the only starting XI members who went unchanged after progress was secured with a game to spare n the group. Al-Bulaihi and Mohamed Kanno reached 50 caps against Thailand while Mohammed Al-Breik is six away from that tally. Raghed Al-Najjar was in for Ahmed Al-Kassar in goal on his Green Falcons debut but the latter should start here.
Potential Saudi Arabia XI: Al-Kassar; Al-Briek, Al-Tambakti, Lajami, Al-Bulaihi; Abdulhamid, Ali, Al-Malki, Ghareeb; S. Al-Dawsari, Al-Shehri.
South Korea: Klinsmann brought in Kim Tae-hwan, Kim Young-gwon and Jeong Woo-yeong for Jung Seung-hyun, Lee Ki-je and Park Yong-woo last time out. Hwang Hee-chan finally featured in the third game replacing Cho Gue-sung while Kim Jin-su came on for Seol Young-woo after a knock. Lee Kang-has three goals this tournament while Jeong Woo-yeong got his fourth international goals and Son Heung-min has scored in consecutive games.
Potential South Korea XI: Hyeon-woo; Young-woo, Seung-hyun, Min-jae, Jin-su; Kang-in, In-beom, Woo-yeong, Jae-sung; Gue-sung, Heung-min.
Prediction
South Korea look shaky while Saudi Arabia are solid and hard to beat. Do not expect Mancini's side to be prolific but a narrow winning margin over Klinsmann's men would not be a surprise. Pick: Saudi Arabia 1, South Korea 0.
