Team Korea’s national team Hong Myung-bo, which is seeking to advance to the World Cup finals for the 11th consecutive time, avoided its worst start by garnering its first win in an away match against Oman. It took a breather by gaining the targeted three points. However, it was not easy to smile as he continued to show frustration and anxiety.
The national soccer team, led by head coach Hong Myung-bo, beat Oman 3-1 in the second Group B match of the third qualifying round for the 2026 FIFA North-China World Cup in Asia at Sultan Qaboos Stadium in Muscat, Oman on the 10th (Korea time).
It is the first victory in the third qualifying round of the North-China World Cup where six of the 8.5 tickets to the finals distributed to Asia (directly to the first and second place teams in each group) are at stake.
South Korea aimed to win two games in the first and second rounds of the third qualifying round this month, but its start was twisted on the 5th, drawing 0-0 with underdog Palestine. If it made a mistake until the match against Oman, it could have shaken significantly due to the worst start in the final World Cup qualifying round, but it set the stage for a rebound.
It is the first time in 10 years and 6 months that Hong, who took the helm of the national team again after being eliminated from the group stage of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, won the A-match since the warm-up match (2-0 win) against Greece in March 2014.
Coach Hong, who was on beleaguered with controversy over fairness in the process of appointing the national team’s head coach and poor performance against Palestine, avoided the worst situation by winning the match against Oman.
Team Korea won the match, but it was not a satisfactory outcome. Team Korea displayed frustrating performance in the match against Palestine and Oman. While the two opposing teams were not capable of competing for first or second place in Group B, Korea failed to display overwhelming performance.
South Korea played a close game against Oman in the 37th minute of the second half before Son Heung-min showed his personal skills and scored the winning goal.
In the 6th minute of the second half, the penalty was stolen due to a dubious decision, but Korea also failed to create a decisive chance until the middle of the second half. For about 20 minutes from the middle of the first half, he was losing and losing the lead to Oman.
The players were physically heavy due to lack of stamina in the hot weather, and there was a gap when defending, causing a crisis. In the 43rd minute of the second half, when Kim Min-jae was leading 2-1, he could have given up an equalizer if it had not been for Kim Min-jae’s decisive defense.
Set piece defense still showed loopholes. Hong Myung-bo was criticized for exposing set piece crisis several times in the match against Palestine, but he also showed no improvement in the match against Oman. He allowed an equalizer in the 47th minute in the first half. 안전놀이터
It is not a positive factor that Kim Min-jae is constantly changing in other defensive positions. It is also meaningful to experiment with various cards, but most of them are not satisfied yet.
In front of Hong Myung-bo, whose completeness has fallen, there is a stronger opponent waiting for him. South Korea will play an away match against Jordan on October 10 and then face Iraq on October 15 at its home turf.
Iraq and Jordan are considered candidates for the World Cup finals against South Korea in Group B. If they miss the two games, the road to North Korea, China and the U.S. could be much rougher.
I took a breather, but I have a lot of homework to solve. If you don’t supplement and improve, you could face a tougher situation in October.