Hong Myung-bo, who gained confidence with a complete victory over Jordan, will try to break the “Anbang Phobia” this time.
The national soccer team, led by head coach Hong Myung-bo, will play the fourth Group B match of the third qualifying round for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North Korea-China at Mir Stadium in Yongin at 8 p.m. on the 15th.
South Korea beat Jordan 2-0 in Game 3 in Amman, Jordan, on the 10th (Korea Standard Time). With this victory, South Korea shook off its nightmare of being completely defeated by Jordan in the semifinals of the Asian Cup in February and took the lone lead in Group B.
Now, South Korea wants to shake off the disappointment of being a little weak at home in the match against Iraq, which will be the last A match in Korea this year.
Korea had seven wins and two draws in nine matches of the second and third qualifying rounds for the 2026 North-China World Cup. Korea has not lost a single match, but its performance is not bad.
Unusually, however, the away games performed much better at home with two wins and two draws, seven points and one run, and five wins and 18 goals and one run away from home. Most of the matches that had multiple goals or good content were away games.
In the second qualifying round, which was home-and-away with three teams from China, Thailand and Singapore, they all won by a greater margin on the road than at home.
The draw against Thailand, where the only winless and lost points in the second qualifying round, also came from the Seoul World Cup Stadium at home.
Even in the third qualifying round, which is still underway, there were more things to laugh about on the road than at home. The team had a frustrating 0-0 draw with the Palestinians at home, but won all of them by scoring five goals in two away matches.
Usually, home games played with familiar environments and home fan support are easier than away games that require overcoming travel time, environment, and territoriality, but South Korea did not.
The grass problem and the recent chaotic atmosphere are cited as reasons.
The ground of the Seoul World Cup Stadium, the home of the national team, has been completely destroyed by heat waves and heavy rains, making it impossible to play normal games.
In fact, in the home game against Palestine in September, South Korea’s advantage, the fast pass, was often exposed, and there was a scene where they lost decisive shooting opportunities with irregular boundaries.
On the other hand, in the away game, the grass condition was better than that of the home, so even if it was difficult to adapt, the performance was better. It is in a similar vein that captain Son Heung-min confessed, “It was more convenient to play in the away game,” and then made a determined statement, “I hope the grass problem (of the home stadium) will be improved because it is directly related to the players’ performance.”
Fortunately, the home game will not be affected significantly by grass. The Korea Football Association (KFA) will move the match against Iraq to Mir Stadium in Yongin, rather than Seoul. The grass at Mir Stadium is in relatively good condition.
Another variable is coach Hong Myung-bo and soccer fans’ dissatisfaction with the KFA.
Recently, fans are deeply disappointed with the controversy over the unfairness of the coach’s appointment and the KFA’s inexperienced operation. This was a huge explosion in the match against Palestine in September, leading to the first-ever incident in which home fans booed. In the process, Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich) had a scuffle with the red devil.
Watching the home game against Palestine, a soccer player said, “The players must have been shocked to the extent that they did not want to play. If it’s a home game, you have to have more fun in front of fans, and this is a more painful environment than an away game.” 토토사이트 This means that it was more burdensome and difficult to win.
Public sentiment is still cold in general, but chances are high that the atmosphere at the stadium will be different. Mir Stadium, which can accommodate about 35,000 seats, has practically been sold out except for some seats with limited visibility.
With the confidence he gained from his away victory in Jordan, he must now shake off his small appearance on his home turf.