Cho Kyu-sung (Mit Whelan), a forward striker, was one player that left much to be desired during the Korean national soccer team’s journey to the semi-finals at the 2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup. He had just one goal in five matches. As a forward striker, he has failed to meet fans’ expectations not only in scoring capacity but also in performance including competition for ball in the air.
In fact, Cho has the most “Big Chance Miss” (four times, tied for first place) in this year’s event. The record is all the more regrettable considering that Son Heung-min (Tottenham Hotspur), the second highest number of players in Korea, had one inning and that he had eight shots in this year’s event. This does not necessarily mean that he has the capacity to display his skills to display performance by banking on his height. The winning rate of competition in air ball in this year’s event is only 38.89 percent, which is also regrettable.
Specifically, Cho failed to score even though he started as the front line two-top in all three group matches. His score on the sofa was far below expectations, with 5.8 points in the match against Bahrain and 6.2 points in the match against Malaysia. The same was true for the quarterfinals against Australia. Playing to the frontier, Cho failed to score a single shot, and won only one out of three in aerial ball competitions (winning rate at 33 percent), and won only one out of five in ground ball competitions (winning rate at 20 percent). He only touched the ball 16 times, before leaving the stadium just 24 minutes into the second half.
Cho Kyu-sung’s only brilliant match was the round of 16 match against Saudi Arabia. Then German coach Jurgen Klinsmann deployed Son Heung-min to the one-top position by using unconventional three-back tactics, and deployed Jung Woo-young and Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain) to the second line. Instead, Cho was deployed as a “joker” in the 19th minute of the second half, and he became the hero of a dramatic equalizer in the extra time of the second half. It was also the only moment when Cho smiled brightly and roared at the event.
The match against Jordan in the semifinals will take place at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium in Alayyan, Qatar at midnight on Saturday (Korea time). As the final match is set for the finals, more attention is paid to how to utilize Cho Kyu-sung under coach Klinsmann. Attention is focusing on whether Cho will continue his stubbornness to be the starting pitcher in as many as four of the five games in the tournament, or whether he will use Cho as the only “joker” who shone all the time.
The fact that Cho Kyu-sung’s presence as a starting pitcher is falling far short of expectations has already been sufficiently confirmed through the previous four games. The fact that Cho is not clearly superior in scoring capacity as well as in competition for ball in the air means that Cho is either in a very low condition or that Clinton is not making the most of it. It also means that there is no good reason to appoint Cho as a starting pitcher.
On the contrary, “Joker Cho Kyu-sung,” which was confirmed in the match against Saudi Arabia, is worth utilizing. If the game does not go well, Cho Kyu-sung, a tall striker, can be deployed as a substitute to be at the forefront of the team’s defense. If Cho takes advantage of the tired opponent’s physical strength, as he did in the match against Saudi Arabia, Cho’s height is likely to be more effective.
As Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton) returned just in time, it became possible to form a variety of strikers, including putting Son Heung-min at the front-line one-top. Moreover, Cho Kyu-sung even had memories of his disappointing performance in the second group match against Jordan, as he could not overcome all four aerial ball competitions. Considering that Cho Kyu-sung’s performance is far off at least in this tournament, it is time to consider the selection of Cho Kyu-sung as the starting member. The tournament, which is a “lose-out”, needs to be more cautious if it is a semi-final stage. 헤라카지노도메인
Meanwhile, Jordan, the opponent team in the semifinals, is ranked 87th in the FIFA rankings, 64 places lower than Korea (23rd). In the past group match, the team tied 2-2. In past matches, Korea has three wins and three ties to lead the team. If Korea beats Jordan to reach the final, it will be the first time in nine years since the 2015 Australia World Cup. On the other side, Qatar and Iran, the host and defending champion, will face off.