Coach Hong Myung-bo, who leads the Korean men’s national soccer team, said he will devise a way to minimize the movement variables of European players.
Hong Myung-bo will play the first round of the third Asian qualifying round for the ‘2026 FIFA North-China World Cup’ against Palestine at Seoul World Cup Stadium at 8 p.m. on the 5th.
It is the first game to make it to the finals for the 11th consecutive World Cup.
Leaving behind the noise that occurred in the process of Hong’s appointment as former coach Jurgen Klinsmann (Germany), he will play South Korean soccer’s first schedule for the North-China World Cup.
Although it is not fully supported by the fans, head coach Hong did not seem to care much.
Ahead of the first national team training in 10 years since the 2014 FIFA Brazil World Cup at Goyang Stadium in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province on the 2nd, Hong said, “I think (the match against Palestine) is not a very important game for me, but rather a very important game for South Korea right now. Since it is the third qualifying round of the World Cup, one game will ultimately determine whether South Korea can advance to the World Cup finals or not.”
However, he was concerned that the part where there is only one day of training as a whole could act as a variable.
On the first day, only 19 people participated in the training.
Only seven overseas players, including Lee Jae-sung (Mainz), Um Ji-sung (Swansea City), Cho Yoo-min (Sharja), Park Yong-woo (Al-Ain), Jung Seung-hyun (Al-Wasl), Oh Se-hoon (Machida Zelvia), and Song Bum-keun (Shonan Belmare), have warmed up to 12 players who will play in the K-League professional soccer including Cho Hyun-woo and Kim Young-kwon (Ulsan HD).
Among the 19 players, only Joo Min-kyu (Ulsan), Park Yong-woo, Jung Seung-hyun and Song Bum-keun, who were in perfect condition, performed normal training, while the rest of the players focused on recovery.
The remaining seven players, including Son Heung-min (Tottenham), who were included in the A-match list this September, will join sequentially as their team’s schedule ends late.
According to the Korea Football Association, the training time was delayed a little on the 2nd day, and all the players were set to breathe on the ground, but it is difficult for the players to participate in training normally upon returning home.
Therefore, the 4th, a day before the Palestinian match, is expected to be the only time for all 26 players to have normal training. 메이저놀이터
“This situation has happened consistently (in the former team that was in charge). I am fully aware of this,” Hong said. “Of course, the difference in how many days the main players can rest affects the team’s performance,” he added, suggesting that it is not an easy variable.
“Now that the players arrive tomorrow, they have to train and play for one day on the 4th,” he said. “I will talk to the players about what is really good for the team. As a result, it is a good way for the players and for the team.”