Before the Lebanon-Syria war
Domestic K-League Final Battle Check
6 Europeans including Kim Min-jae are expected to join
Son Heung-min and Hwang Hee-chan’s participation is temporarily suspended
Up to 8 people must return to Korea
Players who kept the bench ‘snow painting’ opportunity
The Korean national football team, ahead of the evaluation match against Moldova on the 21st, trains at the practice ground in Antalya, Turkey on the 19th (local time). Provided by the Korea Football Association
The original audition is hotter than the actual performance. For those who are thirsty for opportunities, even a small time to show themselves in an audition is precious. The same is true in the world of sports. Therefore, the friendly match between the Korean national football team and Iceland held in Antalya, Turkey on the 15th was exceptionally hot. This match did not take place during the match A period designated by FIFA, so there were 27 entries, excluding goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu (32, Kashiwa Reysol) and central defender Kwon Gyeong-won (30, Gamba Osaka), among 27 entries without a call from Europeans in the midst of the season. The people were filled with K-riggers. Thanks to this, many players who had not been given a chance in the national team were selected. The audition was open. And most of the players in this match showed a high level of concentration and defeated Iceland 5-1. Gyu-seong Cho (24, Gimcheon), Baek Seung-ho (25, Jeonbuk), Kim Jin-gyu (25, Busan), and Umji-seong (20, Gwangju) made their debut goal in match A.
This national team will go to the second audition. The friendly match against Moldova will be held on the 21st at Mardan Stadium in Antalya, Turkey, where Iceland was played. This is the last place to evaluate players before going on to the 7th and 8th rounds of the Asian final qualifying rounds for the 2022 World Cup in Asia against Lebanon on the 27th and Syria on the 1st February.
After the great victory over Iceland, the desperate need of the players grew even greater. On the 17th, Paulo Bento national team coach coached Kim Min-jae (26, Fenerbahce), Jung Woo-young (Al Sadd), Jung Woo-young (23, Freiburg), Hwang In-beom (26, Rubin Kazan), Lee Jae-seong (30, Mainz), Hwang Ui-jo (30, Bordeaux) ) will be called in the second consecutive match of this World Cup final qualifier. In addition, the participation of Son Heung-min (30, Tottenham) and Hwang Hee-chan (26, Wolverhampton), who are recovering from an injury, will be put on hold for now and decided to make a decision after observing the situation. As foreign players are expected to join, someone must return to Korea, not Lebanon, where the final qualifying away game will be held. Depending on the recovery status of Heung-Min Son and Hee-Chan Hwang, the destinations of at least 6 and at most 8 people change.
The sweeter ones are the players who couldn’t compete in the previous game. In the last game against Iceland, a total of 17 people stepped on the ground. In addition to goalkeeper Kwon Kyung-won, who joined late in the aftermath of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), Kim Dae-won (25, Gangwon), Ko Seung-beom (28, Kimcheon), and Choi Ji-mook (25, Seongnam), who were first selected for the national team, and Cho Young-wook, who have not yet played A match (23, Seoul) and others kept the bench. Lee Dong-jun (25, Ulsan), who played two matches in Match A, was also absent. The only chance they have to appeal to them is against Moldova. Coach Bento expressed great satisfaction with his performance after the match against Iceland and said, “It is not likely that there will be many changes in the initial starting list”, making them even more desperate. You have to show a high level of concentration within the small amount of time given against Moldova to catch the attention of coach Bento.
This motivational appearance of the new players is a plus for the national team as a whole. This is because fierce internal competition creates tension in the national team, where concentration may be relaxed due to the smooth final qualifying process. Through this, it can also gain momentum to prepare for the World Cup finals in November this year.
[ⓒ 세계일보 & Segye.com, 무단전재 및 재배포 금지]