AFC U17 Asian Cup
Having met in a friendly match as part of their preparations for the tournament as well as collecting information in the matches leading to their showdown, da Silva is expecting some surprises during the game that will require mid-game adjustments.
“All the four teams who are in the semis are deserving champions,” said da Silva. “For Korea (Republic), a month ago we had a friendly match against them. So we have a lot of data and information about them and it would be the same for them .
“Everybody in the team is happy because we managed to reach here after beating Japan. This is not luck but preparations that we have done since July that has helped us to get to this point.
“I know my strategy but every match has its own circumstances and I’m sure we will have to do that.”
Captain Abdulhadi Matari, unavailable for the match against Japan, is determined to put in extra effort to ensure that Saudi Arabia reach the final.
“I consider this to be a very important match but we will approach it like any other because we don’t need any additional pressure,” said Matari.
“I’m very excited for the next match and I’ll compensate for missing the last game but doing double work for this one.”
Preview Semi-finals | AFC U17 Asian Cup™ Saudi Arabia 2025
Korea Republic’s journey to the semi-finals has not been plain sailing with defeat to Indonesia in their opening Group D match followed by requiring a last-gasp equaliser against Tajikistan in the quarter-finals to take the match into penalties.
Head coach Back is counting on the confidence drawn from the comeback against the Central Asian side to power up his side against the hosts.
“We will do our best to prepare well for this match,” said Back. “It has not been an easy path for us, especially the match in the quarter-final.
“The players never gave up and that result would give us lots of confidence. We've tried to make the team better so that we can compete better here and at the World Cup.”
Centre-back Koo Hyeon-bin dismissed suggestions that his team will be overawed by the occasion, even with the expected large number of Saudi Arabia fans in the stands as he looks to help Korea Republic to a sixth final appearance.
“The team spirit is really good and we are confident of winning the game,” said Koo. “After losing the first match, we had a lot of team meetings, especially among us players only, which I think was crucial for us to improve.
“I don’t think the Saudi fans being in the stadium will have an impact on us. If we play as we know we are capable of, then I’m sure we can do well.”
Saudi Arabia v Korea Republic
Venue: King Fahd Sports City Stadium
Kick-off: Thursday, 17:00 (UTC+3)
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