The wandering of Korean soccer is getting longer.
The Korea Football Association was booed in a game that took the first step toward advancing to the World Cup finals for the 11th consecutive time, and Hong Myung-bo, the new coach of the national soccer team, barely took a breather after a struggle.
The South Korean national soccer team, led by head coach Hong Myung-bo, had one win and one draw in the second consecutive Asian qualifying round for the 2026 FIFA World Cup between North Korea and the U.S. during the A-match in September.
After a 0-0 shock draw in the first round at home against the “weak” Palestinians, who were considered the weakest in Group B, they won 3-1 after struggling in the second round against Oman.
It wasn’t the six points I wanted, but I got off to a bad start with four points.
But the process was not smooth.
The first match against Palestine at the Seoul World Cup Stadium on the 5th was held amid jeers from fans. The national supporters’ “Red Devils” booed Hong Myung-bo whenever he was seen on the electronic display.
In addition, along with cries of “Jung Mong-gyu, go out,” “Pinoki Hong” and “The Dark Ages of Korean Soccer” criticizing Hong also appeared.
The booing was so loud that defender Kim Min-jae (Munich) visited the stands after the game and asked them to refrain from it, and it also had a significant impact on the players’ play.
The Red Devils said the booing was directed at Chung Mong-kyu, president of the Korea Football Association, and the players who couldn’t see the electronic display properly because they were focusing on the game could be misunderstood because the booing was directed at them.
Later, Kim Min-jae’s apology ended the red devil’s booing incident.
It was difficult to find booing toward Hong Myung-bo in Oman’s expedition, which was mainly focused on Korean residents.
The sold-out crowd for home games was also cut off. Nearly 60,000 (59,018) people entered the stadium, but empty seats were visible throughout the stadium.
It was about 11 months after the warm-up match against Tunisia held at Seoul World Cup Stadium on October 13 last year that tickets for the national soccer team’s home game in Korea were not sold out.
There is also a strong voice within the association toward Chairman Chung Mong-gyu.
On the 12th, the Korea Football Association’s union issued a statement pointing out that “the Chung Mong-gyu executive branch’s blind pursuit of the chairman’s fourth term without regard to angry public opinion from soccer fans and the media is beyond ignorance and incompetence itself.”
“Chairman Chung will declare that he will not run and spend the rest of his term in dealing with the Korea Football Association in crisis. Chairman Chung’s declaration that he will not run will be the first step in resolving the Korean soccer crisis,” he said.
Coach Hong Myung-bo, who did not receive support from fans due to unfair controversy during the appointment process, barely took a breather.
He, who was on the verge of being beleaguered due to his poor match against Palestine, attempted to change five starters in the match against Oman, and won Masugul’s victory in two games with the scoring shots of captains Son Heung-min (Tottenham), Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton), and Joo Min-kyu (Ulsan).
However, Hong Myung-bo seemed to have a long way to go.
Although you cannot be full in the first drink, the prevailing evaluation is that there are still many shortcomings in terms of tactics and game content.
In the match against Palestine, he insisted on the so-called “Ravolbiana” tactic of lowering the defensive midfielder between center backs even though the opponent lowered the overall pressure line, losing ball ownership in the midfield. 안전놀이터
There was also bad luck, such as the opponent’s goalkeeper’s good defense and Son Heung-min’s shot hitting the post, but the detailed tactics were also lacking offensively.
In the match against Oman, he reinforced the number in the middle to correct what did not work against Palestine, and took the lead with Hwang Hee-chan’s first goal in the early hours.
However, when the opponent raised the line, it was not smooth to cope with the tactics accordingly.