CANBERRA (Yonhap) ― When South Korea opens its 2015 AFC Asian Cup campaign Saturday against Oman, it will face a team that has the potential to surprise unsuspecting opponents.

South Korea is currently the third-highest ranked country in the AFC at 69th, while Oman is sitting at 93rd. South Korea holds an edge in all-time meetings with three wins and a loss, but the last clash between the two came in 2004.

And based on its recent performance, Oman may not be such an easy hurdle for South Korea in its quest to end its 55-year title drought at the Asian Cup.

Last October, Oman managed three goals against the Costa Rican team known for its stout defense before losing 4-3. At the Asian Cup qualification held earlier last year, Oman finished with an undefeated record of four wins and two draws, with seven goals scored and one goal allowed against Jordan, Syria and Singapore.

Then at the Gulf Cup of Nations last November featuring eight teams, Oman finished atop the group that featured the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Iraq. Oman was the convincing 5-0 winner over Kuwait, and the two countries will face each other again at the Asian Cup next week.

Coached by the Frenchman Paul Le Guen, Oman has held two warm-up matches in Australia in the run-up to the tournament. It played Qatar to a 2-2 draw but lost to China 4-1. Sources have said the loss to China might be deceiving because Oman didn’t have its best lineup and mostly tested its reserve players.

The biggest name for Oman plays in goal. Wigan Athletic’s Ali Al-Habsi is the only Oman player at the Asian Cup who plays for an overseas club and the 33-year-old will also serve as the team captain in Australia.

On offense, forward Abdulaziz Al-Muqbali is seen as a key player, with 13 goals in 39 appearances. He scored one of Oman’s goals in the 2-2 draw against Qatar late last month.

Le Guen, who once coached Lyon to three consecutive French league championships, has acknowledged that Oman is in a challenging group with South Korea, Australia and Kuwait but said his underdog squad will fight to the end.

“I think we can have an upset, and we’re strong enough to give our opponents trouble,” Le Guen said. “It won’t be easy, but we’re not going to back down.”

Le Guen said South Korea, coached by the German-native Uli Stielike, is a stronger team than Oman but claimed his team will have a chance.

“South Korea has players based in the Bundesliga and Premier League, but if we can make them tired, you never know what may happen in the 90 minutes,” Le Guen said. “No one can predict the result until the final whistle.”

South Korea will counter with a team that has a strong midfield corps but lacks a viable scoring threat up front. South Korea’s defense also remains shaky, and Stielike has never used the same defensive pairings in the five matches he’s coached so far.

Bolton Wanderers’ Lee Chung-yong has long been the creative mind on the right wing and will likely be assigned the same role.

Bayer Leverkusen’s Son Heung-min, with his energy and ability to control the ball at high speed, is expected to carry the bulk of the scoring load and back up Cho Young-cheol, a likely starting forward.

Nam Tae-hee of Lekhwiya SC may get the nod as the attacking midfielder over Koo Ja-cheol of Mainz, a former national team captain who has struggled to find his form.

Ki Sung-yueng, the current captain and the midfield stalwart for Swansea City, will be the on-field general for South Korea in midfield, and he may be joined there by his long-time sidekick, Han Kook-young of Qatar SC.

Stielike may yet juggle his defensive line once again. In the team’s 2-0 win over Saudi Arabia on Sunday, Kim Ju-young of Shanghai East Asia and Jang Hyeon-soo of Guangzhou R&F played the full 90 minutes as center backs. Kim Chang-soo also played the entire match as the right back. Kim Jin-su started and played the first half as the left back, and was replaced by Park Joo-ho, who started the match as a midfielder and slid down to the defensive position.

The picture in goal is just as murky. With Jung Sung-ryong, a veteran of two World Cups, sidelined with a leg injury, Kim Jin-hyeon and Kim Seung-gyu played each half against Saudi Arabia.

Both made key saves that preserved the clean sheet victory.

Kim Jin-hyeon has started three of the five matches coached by Stielike so far.