Hong Myung-bo’s victory over Oman put out the “urgent fire,” but experts said that the team should increase its tactical perfection as group matches against Jordan and Iraq are scheduled next month.
The South Korean national soccer team, led by head coach Hong Myung-bo, is ranking second in Group B with one win and one draw (four points) in the first and second Group B matches of the third Asian qualifying round for the 2026 FIFA North-China World Cup held in September.
The national team shocked the Palestinians by scoring a 0-0 draw in the first match against them in Seoul on the 5th. South Korea showed a big difference from Palestine (96th) in the FIFA rankings (23rd), but the score was not scored.
Fortunately, the team won the second match against Oman 3-1 thanks to Captain Son Heung-min’s outstanding performance. Son contributed to all the goals scored on the day, scoring his 49th A-match goal.
The third Asian qualifying round for the U.S.-North Korea World Cup is an important event in which six of the 8.5 teams that qualify for the World Cup finals are decided. Team Korea, which is grouped with Iraq, Jordan, Oman, Palestine, and Kuwait in Group B, can win a ticket to North Korea and the U.S. if it ranks second in the group with a total of 10 matches.
As the team lost the lead in the aftermath of the draw against Palestine, the 3rd and 4th games became even more important. Hong Myung-bo will play the third round of the Asian qualifying round for the World Cup in an away match in Jordan on October 10. The Korea Football Association (KFA) decided to fly a chartered plane for the first time in 11 years, seeing the away match in Jordan as a watershed.
Jordan is ranked 68th in FIFA rankings, which is lower than South Korea, but the team beat South Korea 2-0 in the semi-finals at the 2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Qatar Asian Cup. In recent matches, the team had a 3-1 victory over Palestine. 안전놀이터
The home game against Iraq on October 15 is also quite difficult. Iraq is one of the strongest teams in Western Asia.
Commentator Kim Dae-gil told News 1 that Hong Myung-bo has many things to supplement, adding, “First of all, we need to speed up the team even more. Under the current system, defense that we are trying to protect cannot be effectively penetrated. This is the tempo that our opponents feel is worth keeping.”
“The completeness was still tactically low,” he said. “It is a time when the completeness is low, but it must be different in the future. Gradually, we should be able to show what soccer coach Hong Myung-bo is pursuing.”