The Korean national soccer team conceded its first goal at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games. The person who provided the excuse for conceding the goal was none other than captain Baek Seung-ho (Jeonbuk).
However, Baek Seung-ho, as the captain, was not easily intimidated. Rather, it was an opportunity to focus more on the game after conceding a goal and lead to a big win by 4 points.
The national team led by coach Hwang Sun-hong defeated Kyrgyzstan 5 to 1 in the round of 16 held at the Jinhua Sports Center Stadium in Zhejiang Province, China, on the 27th. They advanced to the quarterfinals and continued their challenge to win their third consecutive championship.
In the previous three group stage games, Korea recorded all wins without conceding a goal. They defeated Kuwait 9 to 0 and Thailand 4 to 0 to advance to the round of 16. Afterwards, they achieved a clean 3-0 victory in the third game against Bahrain.
They continued their good performance in the round of 16, winning by 4 points against Kyrgyzstan. However, the only regret was that they conceded their first goal of the tournament on this day.
The goal came in the 28th minute of the first half when the team was ahead 2-0. Opposing striker Maksat Aligulot intercepted Baek Seung-ho’s touch mistake and scored a make-up goal after facing a one-on-one situation.
Korea ended the first half in an anxious situation, trailing by one point, and the tense atmosphere continued into the second half. Fortunately, starting with Jung Woo-young’s penalty kick in the 29th minute of the second half, Jo Young-wook and Hong Hyun-seok scored goals in succession to secure a 5-1 victory.
Baek Seung-ho, who we met in the mixed zone (joint coverage area) after the game, said about providing an excuse for conceding a goal, “I don’t feel pressured at all. I think mistakes are part of soccer,” and “Rather, I made a mistake and the players got nervous again. “I think I’m glad it was me and not another player,” he said. He added, “Everyone makes mistakes while playing soccer, so I tried to shake them off quickly.”
Although Kyrgyzstan is ranked 96th in the FIFA rankings, it is an underdog, but there are clear things to watch out for. Aligulot, who scored the first goal, and striker Atai threatened Korea’s goal with several quick counterattacks.
In response, Baek Seung-ho said, “I thought Kyrgyzstan would come prepared for a counterattack, but I think we relaxed in that area. Rather, I think it was a lesson learned.” He then recalled, “Even in a situation where we were winning, I thought, ‘Shouldn’t I have kept my guard up and played the game?’”
Although it provided an excuse for conceding a goal, they scored the first goal with a penalty kick. Midfielder Baek Seung-ho is unintentionally the top scorer with his third goal of the tournament.토토사이트
However, Baek Seung-ho drew a line, saying, “I have no desire to score goals at all.” He raised his voice, saying, “Being in charge of penalty kicks is something the coach said before coming to the tournament. We were lucky enough to score a goal, but we have no desire to score. I just hope we do well and win.”
The opponent in the quarterfinals is the host country, China. We must be wary of overwhelming cheering and biased judgment. However, Baek Seung-ho expressed confidence, saying, “I prepared in advance for the fact that there would be no VAR and that we would be able to meet China.” He then said, “I think I should just enjoy it rather than worry,” and was confident of victory, saying, “I heard that my opponent is a bit extreme, but if I take advantage of it, I will be able to do better.”