Attention is focusing on whether three of the four new faces who could not sit on the bench against Palestine will be able to hit the ground in the upcoming match against Oman.
The South Korean national soccer team (23rd in FIFA ranking) led by head coach Hong Myung-bo will face Oman (76th in FIFA ranking) in the second Group B match of the third Asian qualifying round for the 2026 FIFA North-China (U.S.-Canada-Mexico) World Cup, which will be held at Sultan Kavs Stadium in Muscat, Oman, at 11 p.m. on the 10th (Korea time). South Korea has one draw and Oman has one loss.
In the first match against Palestine held on Saturday, Korea ended up with a 0-0 draw after a rough match. The match received much attention as it was Hong Myung-bo’s debut as a coach for the first time in 10 years. However, fans showed cold reactions ahead of the match. He expressed anger at Chung Mong-gyu, chairman of the Korea Football Association, and the rough-and-ready administration of various associations that were revealed during the appointment of Hong Myung-bo.
It was a match played in such circumstances. If the outcome of the match was good, or if the process was positive, the public criticism might have eased somewhat. However, Coach Hong Myung-bo pursued “U-shape build-up,” which had been criticized since his days in Ulsan HD, and continued to only rotate the ball to the side and the rear. The ball was rarely connected to the front line, and there were very few scenes where Son Heung-min and Lee Kang-in shone.
Rather, the team struggled with Palestinian counterattacks. Korea was often embarrassed by counterattacks that the Palestinians had been preparing tactically, and without Cho Hyun-woo’s super save, Korea would have knelt down against the underdog Palestinians at home. After a rough match, Korea managed to win a 0-0 draw.
Aside from the result of the match, there is another player who drew keen attention to whether he will play or not. It is Yang Min-hyuk of Gangwon FC. Yang, who has appeared like a comet this season, has grown into the core of Gangwon’s offense, and is thriving on the K-League stage. He has scored eight goals and five assists, contributing greatly to Gangwon’s competition to win the title.
Manager Hong Myung-bo also surprisingly recruited Yang for the second straight A-match series in September. However, Yang failed to make the list of replacements for the match against Palestine. Lee Han-bum (Mit Willan) and Choi Woo-jin (Incheon United), who were newly selected for the national team along with Yang, were also excluded.
Attention is focusing on whether he will be able to make his A-match debut against Oman. However, conditions are necessary to play against Oman. South Korea must set an early stage against Oman. If the gap is widened, Yang Min-hyuk, Lee Han-beom, and Choi Woo-jin can be experimented with without burden. This is expected to be a big step in the development of Korean soccer, 메이저놀이터 including the upcoming A-match in October.
However, it is true that Yang Min-hyuk’s chances of being deployed are significantly lower if he plays a rough game like the match against Palestine. From Hong Myung-bo’s point of view, it is difficult to choose a bold experiment because he feels the burden of not being able to win his debut match and if he fails to score three points in the second match, his position will become unstable.
If Yang plays in the match against Oman, he will make his A-match debut at the age of 18 years and 147 days. According to the KFA’s archives, the earliest age to make his first appearance was Kim Pan-geun, who made his debut at 17 years and 241 days. He was followed by Kim Bong-soo (18 years and 7 days), Lee Seung-hee (18 years and 76 days), and Ko Jong-soo (18 years and 80 days). In fifth place was Son Heung-min, who debuted at the age of 18 years and 175 days in a friendly match against Syria on Dec. 30, 2010. Yang will be able to overtake Son to rank fifth in the history of his youngest A-match debut.