Hong Myung-bo failed to improve his defense by dedicating three consecutive losses.
The South Korean national soccer team, led by head coach Hong Myung-bo, tied the Palestinians 1-1 in the sixth Group B match of the third Asian qualifying round for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North Korea and the U.S. at Amman International Stadium in Amman, Jordan, at 11 p.m. on the 20th (Korea time). The draw ended Hong’s winning streak.
Team Korea led by Coach Hong Myung-bo vowed to take revenge. The team lost face by tying 0-0 with the weak Palestinians at its home ground in September. “The first round was a bit chaotic. We expect a better game than the first round,” Hong said, hoping for victory.
However, the team failed to beat the Palestinians again this time. Team Hong Myung-bo, despite mobilizing all of its core resources including Son Heung-min, Kim Min-jae, Lee Jae-sung and Lee Kang-in, donated one more point to the Palestinians, who are considered the lowest rank in the group.
Team Korea has failed to improve its defense, which had been criticized for consistently. It has lost three consecutive games already. In the past games against Iraq and Kuwait, Korea allowed its opponent team to chase after them due to sharp counterattacks. It was urgent to deal with set piece defense and cross defense.
However, the issue was not resolved and worsened. The Palestinians threatened the Korean defense by using their physical superiority, and Kim Min-jae’s fatal back pass miss resulted in a first loss. Korea struggled despite the fact that the quality of the Palestinian attack was not as good as Iraq and Kuwait. If the Palestinian attack was successful, it could have been a sacrifice of the Palestinian ‘first win’. 카지노사이트
The Korean team also suffered from pressure from the Palestinians. On the day, the Palestinians interfered with the Korean team’s rear build-up process under strong pressure, inducing pass misses. The Palestinians’ strategy worked well. The Korean team encountered several crises as it was tied to the Palestinians and lost its ball to the opponent team. In fact, Korea made four pass misses and allowed seven interceptions to the Palestinians.
In the end, the national team failed to address its defense woes. The assignments given to Hong have been piling up day by day, showing no signs of scoring. Will Korea, which has been under pressure from countries ranked 100th in the FIFA rankings, be able to properly deal with higher-level teams? If the current issue is not closely examined, the “catastrophe” of 10 years ago, which Hong wants to forget, could be repeated in the next World Cup.