While this game had been earmarked months ago as a clash of the two titans of East Asian football (apologies to our Japanese readers) the leadup in the days prior to kick-off has been unusually feisty between the two countries.

Not known for public outbursts against their opponents, the Koreans got things underway on Wednesday with coach Cho Kwang-Rae claiming Australian centre-back Sasa Ognenovski would be no match for his fleet-footed strikers.

While this claim may seem to have some merit, Ognenovski is hardly a spring chicken. At 31, he has been playing in the K-League for the past 3 seasons and recently won the AFC Player of the Year award which suggests he is more than accomplished dealing with pacy Asian strikers.

It may be his partner Lucas Neill who finds the pace a bit too quick.

To his credit Ognenovski hit back against the Koreans on Friday saying they are not as strong as Australia and that Kwang-Rae probably shouldn’t be so confident for a man who hasn’t coached a winning K-League team.

The verbal sparring has come after both sides recorded victories in their opening encounters on Tuesday morning. Australia was comfortable but not convincing against a hapless Indian outfit winning 4-0.

Tim Cahill bagged a brace while Harry Kewell provided an early contender for goal of the tournament with a sumptuous 20 yard strike. Bret Holman scored the other goal to complete the card.

The Koreans meanwhile were forced to overcome a plucky Bahranian outfit 2-1 which will be remembered more for the series of crunching tackles put in by the Gulf players rather than the scoreline.

Kwang-Rae has minimal selection headaches ahead of tonight’s clash with the only change being an enforced one with central defender Kwak Tae-Hwi being sent off in the opening match. Tae-Hwi’s absence may be sorely missed against the aerial threat of Tim Cahill, but that doesn’t seem to be bothering the super-confident coach.

Holger Osieck meanwhile will likely persist with the same outfit that dispatched the Indians despite the left wing combination of Holman and Carney failing to function on any level, even against amateur opposition. Defensive midfielder Mile Jedinak looks set to keep his place in an effort to deal with electric Korean superstar Park Ji-Sung as potential replacement Carl Valeri is not know for his pace.

Osieck also looks set to persist with the makeshift strikeforce of Kewell and Cahill despite neither being a striker by nature. One can only hope we win a few corners.

All in all, it’s shaping up to be a classic contest as both teams are eager to top the group and avoid any tricky quarter-final opponents. Let’s hope the Koreans can only talk the talk otherwise its back to the drawing board for Holger.