This is a match made in heaven - China vs South Korea - at a time when the South is upsetting China to no end by putting U.S. THAAD missiles on their doorstep. China has to host a soccer match between their national team and that of the South. It must gall them that the South could all but eliminate them from the World Cup contention if they lose. Size of country does not matter much in this sport; ask Ireland, Jamaica, or the U.S. about that.
What I noted from the article today in the Wall Street Journal was the security at this event. There are 10,000 security people and only 31,000 attending. That is a ridiculously small number to attend a game of this level. The Chinese don't want many people from the South attending, so "security" is defined differently here. Leave it to the Chinese, who have lots of security for anything the international public will attend, to have enough to watch for any signs of interaction between fans. The only demonstrations, and you can bet there will be some, will be carefully staged and produced for the effect the Chinese want to have on world opinion. These demonstrations won't have much to do with the game.
Place your bets, if you live somewhere where that is allowed. There won't be much need for a coach to give a motivational speech for this one.
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