KAZAN, Russia, June 26 (Xinhua) -- South Korea coach Shin Tae-yong said Tuesday that his team will do their utmost in their last group match against Germany though there was just a "one percent chance to win."
"Germany are stronger than us, and it's not going to be an easy match. But the ball is round. I believe there is still opportunity for us, and we are going to do our utmost to win tomorrow," said the coach at a pre-match press conference in Kazan.
With two losses, South Korea are now at the bottom of Group F, but they still have a theoretical chance to reach the knockout stage if they beat Germany.
Shin said that the situation in Group F has not gone as he anticipated, as he originally predicted that Germany would have gone to the third match with two wins.
Now with just one win and one loss, the defending champions are still struggling to reach the round of 16, and would surely go all out against South Korea to get their three points, according to Shin.
What's worse for South Korea is that they will have to play without captain Ki Sung-yueng, who suffered a left calf injury during the match against Mexico.
Regarding the new captain, Shin said that the decision has not been made yet. "We will see who is the most psychologically stable and can sacrifice for the team, and that person will wear the captain's armband," said Shin.
Shin said South Korea have been analyzing Germany since they were drawn into the same group.
The Asian side came to the World Cup after losing almost half of the key players to injury, and Shin admitted that even if that didn't happen and South Korea play with full strength, Germany would still be a hard opponent to beat.
"However, we still have a one-percent chance (to win) and we're not giving up our hope. We'll try out best to find opportunities and play a wonderful World Cup," Shin said.
South Korea will play Germany in their last group match on Wednesday while Mexico take on Sweden. Currently, Mexico are leading Group F with two wins, while Sweden and Germany are both struggling with one win and one loss.