Coach Hong Myung-bo of the Korean national football team was very excited at the first step. However, his experience grew bigger and he could not erase his fear. Hong Myung-bo, who started his journey to advance to the World Cup finals for the 11th consecutive time, is in a hurry.
A showdown is imminent. South Korea will play the first Group B match of the third Asian qualifying round for the 2026 North-China World Cup against the Palestinians at Seoul World Cup Stadium at 8 p.m. on Tuesday. There is not even a day to properly align their feet. The so-called “three European captains” including Son Heung-min (Tottenham), Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich) and Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain) have to return to their home countries due to delayed schedules, and the team finally became a full team on Tuesday afternoon.
Hong completed his second training session after waiting for these players, who are the core of tactics, to join the team. The training session was postponed to midnight, and the training session was conducted behind closed doors after being open to the public for only 15 minutes from 7 p.m. on Saturday. Team European players, including Son Heung-min, Lee Kang-in, and Hwang In-beom, who have been confirmed to transfer to Feyenoord, have recovered their condition through recovery training.
“Due to the short call-up, 24-hour training is very important. I believe the key to this is how well the coaching staff will prepare and share the details of the game with the players to demonstrate in actual matches.” The traces of such agony are reflected intact. It is the first time that Hong and Kim Min-jae and Lee Kang-in meet at the ground level. It is the first time in 10 years that they have met at the Brazil World Cup. Son’s first participation at the World Cup was in 2014 under Hong’s leadership. He was the youngest member of the A-team at the time. When he failed to advance to the round of 16, he shed tears of regret, and Hong warmly embraced and pledged for his future. Once the “youngest,” Son has now grown into a “captain.”
The trust is strong. “We don’t have that much time. There are risks to make big changes,” Hong said. “I will trust Son Heung-min as the captain and present the role he has played so far. However, I will not let the player put too much pressure on me. I will share the burden little by little so that the player can do better in the game.”
He has a well-established tactical philosophy to pursue. Hong’s big picture is soccer, in which players dominate through ball possession. He also clearly has a purpose in his possession. His plan is to connect attack and defense by adding forwardness and boldness. “We will distribute efficient space in each region when attacking and defending, and prepare training to see what patterns we use as promised, and respond flexibly according to situations,” Hong said. On how to use Son, Hong said, “The thing that Son likes and can do best is to keep his distance from the left side and utilize the space in front of him, and I am fully aware of that. Combination with other players is very important. I will find a way by considering players’ fatigue as a whole.” 메이저사이트
South Korea ranks 23rd in the FIFA rankings, while Palestine ranks 96th. The team had only one match and won the match against the Palestinians. There is no better opponent than this in tactical experiments. However, players who naturalized as a citizen of Europe should be wary. Striker Wessam Abu Ali served as Denmark’s representative by age group. Omar Faray (AIK) and Mustafa Jaidan (Rosenburg), who played in various national teams, are also expected to change into Palestinian uniforms and play in the match against the Korean team.