Saudi Arabia team is determined to earn a direct berth in the World Cup final when it takes on South Korea in the qualifying match at Seoul Wednesday. Saudis have prepared well for this clash as North Korea and Iran are also in the run for the only direct berth left for Asia. Since South Korea has already qualified all the pressure will likely be on Saudis. Saudi Arabia's coach Jose Peseiro of Portugal, who steered Saudi Arabia to two come-from-behind wins over Iran and UAE and revived the team's hopes has concluded his preparations with three training camps in Saudi Arabia before he headed with the team to China where Saudis won 4-0 against the host in a friendly last Thursday. Peseiro has called striker Yasser Al-Qahatani to lead the team after he missed the last two clashes. Young striker Naif Hazazi may assist Al-Qahtani upfront. Mohammed Noor also will be one of the winning cards for Saudi Arabia as he commands the midfield alongside Abdu and Ahmed Atif. “Our main goal is beating South Korea. We scored so many goals against China, I hope we still have enough good luck in next game and beat them,” Paseiro told reporters. South Korea, meanwhile, will not be at full strength on Wednesday. Saudi Arabia had lost 2-0 to South Korea when they met in the first leg in Riyadh. Despite the temptation to relax, South Korea coach Huh Jung-moo said he was determined to close out the qualification rounds undefeated. Though South Korea has nothing riding on the outcome of Wednesday's game, the result could have a significant impact on which country snatches the last automatic Asian berth in South Africa. North Korea is currently second in the group on 11 points, one ahead of Saudi Arabia but having played a game more. If South Korea defeats Saudi Arabia, then North Korea only needs a draw against them in Riyadh on June 17 to qualify. “Saudi Arabia is not an easy team. If only for the sake of preparing for the World Cup next year, we have to play well against them,” said Korea coach. At the moment, however, Saudi Arabia is in the best position for second place and is aiming for a fifth successive appearance on the global stage. In other matches on Wednesday, Iran takes on the UAE, Australia meets Bahrain and japan fightsd with Qatar. South Korea, Japan and Australia have already filled three of Asia's four automatic World Cup qualification spots with two rounds still to play. In Group A, only the play off place is up for grabs and Bahrain can clinch that with a win over top placed Australia in Sydney. __
