Hong Myung-bo did not show satisfactory performance in the two consecutive games. Japan, on the other hand, played a perfect game in the two consecutive games.
The Korea Football Association has appointed Hong as the new head coach of the Korean national team. David Wagner and Gus Foyet had interviews with each other, but Hong took the helm of the national team through interviews. The fans were furious and strongly criticized that it was not a fair process. As a result, Hong’s first match attracted much attention. It was more of a curiosity than an expectation.
The first game was disappointing. Korea had a showdown with Palestine, which is ranked 96th in the FIFA rankings, on last Saturday. It was a rough match. Korea had difficulty penetrating the Palestinians’ two lines of defense throughout the first half. Coach Hong Myung-bo made changes in the second half. Despite this, he displayed aggressive attacks to score points, unlike in the first half. However, he failed to open the goal in the end, and finished 0-0.
There was a voice of criticism against head coach Hong Myung-bo as he failed to score against Palestine, which was falling from objective power with Son Heung-min, Lee Kang-in and Kim Min-jae. There were excuses such as lack of tactical training time, poor condition of players, and grass condition, but it was a game that was not easily understandable.
Team Korea had to win the match against Oman on Saturday. Korea started off in a good mood with Hwang Hee-chan’s goal just 10 minutes into the first half. However, the team allowed a tie at set piece just before the end of the first half. Korea continued to attack throughout the second half, but rarely had a chance. Son Heung-min scored through individual skills and even scored a decisive goal for Joo Min-kyu, winning the match 3-1. Although the team garnered three points, the team did not display good performance.
Team Hong Myung-bo struggled in the two consecutive games, but Japan was different. It was overwhelming, literally. It had a landslide 7-0 victory against China. Japan scored two goals in the first half. In the second half, the team launched an onslaught and scored five goals en masse.
Japan also won the match against Bahrain by a wide margin. Again, Japan boasted strong attack in the second half. Ayase Ueda scored only a penalty kick in the first half, but scored three goals in the second half to win the match 5-0. Japan had a perfect match in two consecutive games.
Korea is called the “Tiger of Asia” and has been famous as a traditional powerhouse in Asia. From the past, Korea was led by superstars such as Cha Bum-kun and Park Ji-sung. Good players such as Son Heung-min, Lee Kang-in and Yang Min-hyuk are still emerging. However, it is questionable whether Korea can be evaluated as the strongest in Asia with current performance. 먹튀검증
In particular, the gap with Japan is widening. Japan does not appear as superstars as Korea does, but it has shown good performances every time. Rather than relying on players, the team plays games by making promises based on outstanding teamwork. Coach Moriyasu Hajime said, “Maintaining a clear tactical color, Japan has turned itself into a strong team. Attention is focusing on whether the team will be able to strengthen itself like Japan.