LIVE streaming: Watch Russia vs Korea Republic on TV and Online - June 17, 2014 FIFA World Cup Match

Topics: Live Stream, TV Schedules, Live Scores, World Cup, Russia, Korea Republic

Russia will be making their first World Cup appearance since 2002 when they face Korea Republic at the Arena Pantanal on Tuesday, the 17th of June.

This is only the third time the Russian national team has made it to the World Cup finals and their fans will be hoping for a much better showing than their previous endeavors. Russia was knocked out of the first round when they made their debut World Cup appearance back in 1994 and were at the receiving end of a similar fate when they participated in the competition eight years later which was hosted in South Korea and Japan. In their two World Cup campaigns the Russians have scored just two victories, a record they will definitely be looking to improve this time around.

However former England national team coach Fabio Capello guided them to a successful World Cup Qualification campaign and Russian fans will be expecting more progress this time around. Russia finished their WCQ campaign top of Group F. Their commendable performances allowed them a direct qualification to the World Cup with second placed Portugal relegated to the play-offs.

Fabio Capello’s men will kick start their campaign undefeated in their last ten games. They performed well in their World Cup preparation matches, subjecting Slovakia to a 1-0 defeat. This was followed by a 1-1 draw against Norway and in their last preparation match Russia scored a 2-0 victory over Morocco courtesy of goals from Vassili Berezoutski and former Chelsea star Yuri Zhirkov.

The squad which has been entirely selected from the national league has been weakened by the absence of Captain Roman Shirokov. This means that a lot of creative burden will fall on Russia’s Euro 2012 star Alan Dzagoev. The 23 year old had a blistering Euro 2012 campaign and ended the season as the tournament’s top scorer. The pressure will once again be on the youngster to reach similar heights and guide his side to a successful campaign.

Russia’s former national team doctor on the other hand is apprehensive of his team’s chances owing to their tiring travel schedule. Russia landed in Sao Paulo, Brazil on Sunday, the 8th of June after a long flight from Moscow and will be making further trips to Cuiaba, Rio de Janeiro and Curitiba for their three group stages matches.

Vasilkov who was with the team during their 2002 World Cup campaign claimed that such an exhausting schedule is detrimental to the side’s preparations as well as performances.

"There is a whole new science about long-distance travel. If we move by north to south – to Madagascar, for example – it's easy. Our bodies don't need to adapt," Vasilkov said.

"But if we go east or west and spend more than four hours in the airplane, then our bodies find it harder to adapt to new circumstances."

Capello reportedly adopted a lighter training routine during the initial days, a practice which received approval from the former national team doctor.

"After long flights, players shouldn't be training really hard," he said.

"They need time to recover. Also, we have noted that it is harder to sleep if you fly east to west."

South Korea on the other hand were expected not to face many troubles in their qualification campaign. However qualification to the world was not as straight forward as many expected for the Asian side. The Red Devils lost twice to Iran and also slipped up against Uzbekistan and Lebanon but ultimately claimed a place in the final 32 after finishing ahead of Uzbekistan on goal difference.

But their disappointing WCQ campaign did result in a few notable changes in the squad. After their second defeat at the hands of Iran, head coach Choi Kang-Hee was relieved of his duties to be replaced by Hong Myung-Bo.

Despite entering the tournament as minnows the team does have some talented players and South Korea will be hopeful of making it to the next round. Some of the players including the likes of Hong Jeung-Ho, Ki Sung-Yueng, Koo Ja-Cheol and Son Heung-Min play their trades at clubs in Premier League and Bundesliga and will be hoping to inspire their side to a memorable campaign.

However Hong Myung-bo’s men have performed poorly in their recent matches, which is surely a source of concern. The Taegeuk Warriors have lost four times in their last six matches which also includes a 4-0 thrashing at the hands of Ghana in their last preparation match.