Korea Republic’s U-23 side resume their quest for a spot in next year’s Olympics on Wednesday night when they take on their counterparts from Uzbekistan for the third time in six months in their opening match of the AFC Final Round for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

The East Asian side, who are attempting to qualify for the Olympics for a sixth consecutive time, enter the Group B match with recent history on their side having already defeated their Central Asian opponents twice to comfortably top their second round group.

Uzbekistan also advanced as runners-up, twice defeating United Arab Emirates and Yemen, but with only one Olympic berth available from a final round group that also includes Bahrain and Syria, the stakes are much higher this time around for the clash at Seoul World Cup Stadium.

Since Korea’s 1-0 win in Tashkent in April, there has been a significant change at the top for the Taeguk Warriors with Pim Verbeek relinquishing the reins of the Olympic team after resigning as coach of the senior national side at the end of the AFC Asian Cup in July.

Following the Dutchman’s departure, former national team assistant coach Park Sung-hwa has stepped into the breach and is promising a change in approach.

"The former coach relied on taking advantage of playing on the flanks, which lacks diversity. So I will stick to a 4-4-2 or a 4-2-3-1 formation to solidify the midfield for central attacks," Park told reporters.

His main concern is the absence of injured FC Seoul striker Park Chu-young, who is likely to be replaced by Kim Sang-rok of Suwon Samsung Bluewings.

However, Kim has the backing of his coach, who added, "I am not worried about Sang-rok. He is a player with lots of experience internationally and he has the ability to do a good job for the Olympic team."

With the teams having already faced each other twice this year, there will be a great deal of familiarity between both sets of players although it will be interesting to see how the Koreans adapt to their new formation under coach Park.

"Since taking over as coach, Park has changed the system from 4-3-3 to 4-4-2. I was the attacking midfielder before but in training I have been adapting to a new role as a centre-forward," said Han Dong-won, who scored both goals in Korea’s 2-0 win in Ansan in March.

"Of course we can win. I scored twice against Uzbekistan earlier this year and got confidence from that. We need to get a good result to give us a good start."

Park could include five players who travelled to South East Asia with the senior Korea Republic side at the Asian Cup in July, including skipper Kim Jin-kyu and his central defensive partner Kang Min-soo, midfielder Oh Jang-eun, forward Lee Keun-ho and goalkeeper Jung Sung-ryong.

The Uzbeks, who have never previously qualified for the Olympics, are also likely to include a handful of players from Rauf Inileyev’s Asian Cup squad such as defenders Aziz Ibragimov and Anzur Ismailov, midfielders Aziz Haydarov and Vitaliy Denisov, plus forward Marat Bikmaev.

All five featured in the Asian Cup with Ibragimov, Denisov and U-23 skipper Haydarov enjoying significant playing time in the team that reached the quarter-finals, where they were unlucky to lose 2-1 to eventual finalists Saudi Arabia.

Wednesday’s match in Seoul is an opportunity for those players to make amends for that disappointment and put the central Asian state on course for a spot in Beijing next year.