A second match in the worst possible atmosphere.
Hwang Sun-hong’s U-22 team will take on Kyrgyzstan at the Changwon Football Center on Monday in the second leg of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-23 Asian Cup Qualifier, which is also the first qualifier for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.스포츠토토
South Korea were humbled by Qatar in the first leg. They were unable to score a goal after dominating the early stages of the game. They made some ridiculous mistakes and gave away goals to their opponents. They lost 0-2 to Qatar. After the game, Hwang apologized to the fans, saying, “I’m sorry for the loss at home.”
This tournament is the first step on the road to Paris. The team must finish first in its group and in the top four of the 11 group runners-up to qualify for the U-23 Asian Cup, the final Asian qualifier for the Paris Olympics. South Korea will become the first team in the world to qualify for 10 consecutive Olympic Games.
South Korea was shaky from the start, not only in terms of the result but also in the content of the game. “In the first half, in the buildup, there was a pass that went backwards,” said Hwang. The fullback was static, so I tried to correct his position. We had trouble building up with one holding midfielder, so we switched to two and asked the fullback to join the attack. We dominated the second half, but we didn’t have much detail on the offensive end. We need to control the pressure depending on the situation, and that was also disappointing.” South Korea finished with 10 shots and two on target. This was less than Qatar (12 shots, 5 on target).
The good news for South Korea is that Qatar qualified for the Asian Cup as hosts, so the match will not count towards their qualifying standings. However, South Korea’s spirits were greatly dampened by the loss.
Hwang said, “We need to show a good performance at home, and I’m sorry we couldn’t do that. This game (against Qatar) is not the end of everything. We have to move forward, so we will recover and focus on the next game. We have to move forward and focus on the next game without getting carried away by the atmosphere.”
South Korea’s lead-up to the tournament has been full of twists and turns. They had to make four changes to their squad before they even convened for training in Changwon on March 28. Injuries, A-team call-ups, and European qualification issues forced them to make changes. In addition, overseas players such as Jung Sang-bin (Minnesota), Kwon Hyuk-kyu (Celtic), and Lee Hyun-joo (Wiesbaden) only joined the team shortly before the tournament. There wasn’t enough time to gel.
Korea will try to turn things around against Kyrgyzstan. Hwang said, “We need to win the next game, so we will prepare by ordering our offense in different situations. I think we need to change from the monotony of the side.” Kyrgyzstan played Myanmar to a 1-1 draw in the first round. South Korea will face Myanmar in the final match on Wednesday.
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