South Korea are currently second in the group after collecting

10 points from three wins, one draw and two losses. They are four points behind the leaders Iran and one point above No. 3 Uzbekistan.

Syria are in fourth place with eight points on two wins, two draws and two losses. Only the top two teams in the group advance directly to the World Cup in Russia, while the third-place team must go through playoff rounds to earn a berth at the football's showpiece event. 

"You never know what's going to be the final result in this group," he said. "I think competition for second and third place will be fierce. But if we prepare hard, I think we won't lose to any team." 

Hakeem said they will fight for the sake of the Syrian people who have been suffering from the ongoing civil war. 

"Syrian people are going through a very difficult time, but we will try our best to collect a good result for them," he said. "We are not going to give up. We want to achieve more things." 

Syria are coming off a surprising 1-0 win over Uzbekistan on last Thursday, while South Korea are in desperate of rebounding after suffering a stunning 1-0 loss to China. 

Hakeem said Syria are tactically prepared against South Korea.

The 57-year-old coach added that if his players can perform with confidence, Syria can collect a victory. South Korea were held to a scoreless draw by Syria in their previous meeting last September.

"I have always believed my players," he said. "Their faith and hard work will deliver a good result."

Syrian forward Firas Al-Khatib said the match against South Korea is critical for their dream to reach the World Cup. 

"We want to win the match tomorrow and take third place in the group," he said. "We acknowledge that South Korea are strong. But we believe that if we win tomorrow, we can go to the World Cup."

(Yonhap)