Park sets World Cup deadline

[CDev]

South Korea captain Park Ji-sung has revealed that the upcoming World Cup in South Africa could be his last.

The 29-year-old Manchester United midfielder is aiming to help South Korea emulate their semi-final appearance at the 2002 World Cup in his third tournament for his country, but reckons it will be important to blood young players in the future.

"I haven't decided the date but in 2014 my age will be 33," he told The Guardian.

"It is good for the national team if the young players grow up quickly and it may be that I can't start with the national team. That's why I think this World Cup is my last."

As the most high-profile player in the South Korea squad, Park admits that he is feeling the weight of expectation on his shoulders

He added: "Of course, I'm just a person; I feel pressure from outside and all the expectations.

"But I am happy because when I was young I wanted to be a national team player and now everyone expects me to show more. I am very happy."

Park is also aware of the influence of football and hopes that it can go some way to build bridges between North and South Korea.

With recent accusations from Seoul that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea was responsible for sinking a South Korean ship in March, tensions are running high in Park's homeland.

In qualifying, Park scored the winning goal for South Korea against Iran, which in turn helped North Korea's bid to reach the World Cup.

A number of North Korea players praised Park's strike in the media and the United midfielder is keen to replicate this camaraderie during the tournament.

"It will be interesting," Park said. "I will watch the North Korean games. North Korea and South Korea speak the same language and actually we are the same country.

"It's the first time when both teams go to the World Cup. Their group is very tough but North Korea is a difficult team to beat and difficult to score against as they showed in qualification. I want to see how they deal with the best teams in the world.

"Football can produce something more than we expect and maybe we can get closer to North Korea through the World Cup."