South Korea coach Uli Stielike accepts his side's status as favorites in Monday's Asian Cup semifinal against Iraq, but the German has warned his players they must be on top of their game to avoid a similar fate to defending champions Japan — and former world No. 1 tennis star Roger Federer.
South Korea is the only team of the four highest FIFA world-ranked teams left in the tournament, with Japan, upset 5-4 on penalties by the United Arab Emirates, Iran and Uzbekistan all eliminated.
Federer was one of the big names to make an earlier-than-expected exit at the Australian Open being held in Melbourne.