Korea saw their bid for a first continental title in over 50 years come to a heartbreaking end with a penalty shootout defeat to neighbours Japan on Tuesday.

It was also the second consecutive game they were forced to play extra-time following the 1-0 triumph over Iran in the last eight and Cho admitted fatigue is a problem ahead of the clash against Uzbekistan at Al Sadd Stadium on Friday, with Park in particular a cause for worry.

“I'm a bit concerned over Park Ji-sung's fitness for the game which may cause injury. We are focusing on injury prevention for the game against Uzbekistan,” he said.

“We've had two extra time matches but even though our players are very tired, we will try to finish this tournament with the possible strongest line-up to win.

“I should focus on the game against Uzbekistan. I'm concerned that some players are not fully recovered from the two games so I have to wait to make a decision on my line-up.”

The winners of Friday's encounter will automatically secure their place at the next AFC Asian Cup in Australia in four years time.

Uzbekistan come into the game on the back of the hugely demoralising 6-0 defeat to Australia but Cho warned his side to be wary of a backlash from the Central Asians.

“Uzbekistan need to restore their reputation following the semi-finals so they will prepare well to recover,” he added.

“So we should approach this match like it is the first match of the Asian Cup even though we are very tired. I believe the players can overcome these barriers with their strong mentality.”

Despite the disappointment of the defeat to Japan, Cho still feels his side's improvement over the tournament will stand them in good stead in the future.

“Our target was to win the Asian Cup but we've failed to bring the cup back home. One thing I'm quite satisfied about is the way we approach and control the game during the tournament, that is the most successful outcome we could've got from this tournament,” he said.

“If we keep working on improving those aspects, we can do well against any team in the world in any tournament. The players’ level of the fitness was quite down against Japan so difficult to control the game.”