Hong Myung-bo began to gain stability as he won two consecutive games in the enemy territory.
The South Korean national soccer team, led by head coach Hong Myung-bo, defeated Jordan 2-0 in the third Group B match of the third Asian qualifying round for the 2026 FIFA North-China World Cup, which ended at Amman International Stadium on the 11th (Korea time). In the first half and second half, they accumulated three valuable points in the enemy territory thanks to the goals of Lee Jae-sung (Mainz) and Oh Hyun-kyu (Henk), respectively.
Following a 3-1 victory over Oman last month, Korea has secured two consecutive wins in the third qualifying round to take the lead in its group. It is a start of its bid to advance to the World Cup finals for the 11th consecutive time.
In addition, the painful 0-2 loss to Jordan in the semifinals of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Qatar Asian Cup in February was also avenged. The national team has overcome Jordan’s away match, which will be a watershed not only for World Cup qualifiers but also for Korean soccer’s future moves.
South Korea deployed Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain), Joo Min-kyu (Ulsan HD), and Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton Wanderers) to the front line, while Lee Jae-sung, Park Yong-woo (Al Ain), and Hwang In-beom (Feyenoord) were placed at the waist. Lee Myung-jae (Ulsan HD), Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich), Cho Yoo-min (Sarja), and Seol Young-woo (Trvena Zvezda) wore goalie gloves.
Hong Myung-bo, who won a relatively easy victory thanks to his relatively easy management, said, “I want to congratulate the players on winning an away match in Jordan. I am also grateful to the cheering squad that came all the way to Jordan from afar.”
“The players showed better performance than they prepared. They showed perfect performance even though the call-up period was short. Rather, it was a better performance than I prepared,” he said.
The preparation process was not easy. With only a short time for training, the team had to fill the vacancy of its core and leader Son Heung-min (Tottenham Hotspur) due to injury. Coach Hong Myung-bo, who agonized over the situation, placed Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton Wanderers) on the left wing to replace Son.
This plan was canceled in the 23rd minute of the first half. Jordanian defenders suffered an ankle injury as they made two rough tackles to stop Hwang Hee-chan. Hwang Hee-chan was eventually replaced by Um Ji-sung (Swansea City) in the early hours, and even after the game, he had to move to Korea on the staff’s back.
To make matters worse, even Um Ji-sung, who entered on behalf of Hwang Hee-chan, complained of pain in the 6th minute of the second half, and the injury evil spirit, which was replaced by Bae Joon-ho (Stoke City), plagued the national team.
Coach Hong Myung-bo said, “I started Plan B because Son Heung-min was not in the left position. Hwang Hee-chan had a good start, but he was unlucky to come out injured. The card I prepared after that was good, but I was embarrassed to get injured again.” 메이저놀이터
The problem is expected to be repeated in the fourth game against Iraq on the 15th. Hwang Hee-chan, Plan B’s first plan, is not in good shape. Coach Hong Myung-bo said, “It is not easy even in the second game. I will go back to Korea and check Hwang Hee-chan’s condition accurately.”
Standing in front of the bench for 90 minutes, Hong constantly gave directions. As much as he longed for victory, he said, “The match was more important to the national team than to individuals. It takes a process to get a good result,” adding, “It was my second convocation, and I communicated more with the players in a good atmosphere than before.”