Hong Myung-bo, who went to the final rehearsal, why the training was delayed by 40 minutes 'Because of the doping test'
Oct 14, 2024
|
|
Director Hong Myung-bo? 渼 Yub?The South Korean national soccer team A will play the fourth Group B match against Iraq in the third Asian qualifying round for the 2026 North-China World Cup at Mir Stadium in Yongin, Gyeonggi-do, at 8 p.m. on the 15th. This match against Iraq is the biggest watershed of the third qualifying round. South Korea emerged as No. 1 in Group B with a 2-0 complete victory at an away game in Jordan on the 10th. Iraq (goal difference +2), which defeated Palestine 1-0 in the third round, also led the Republic of Korea (+4) in goal difference of only 2 wins and 1 draw. If it crosses Iraq, it will have a dominant system. He can take a big step closer to advancing to the World Cup finals for the 11th consecutive time. In the third qualifying round, the first and second place teams will go straight to the World Cup finals, and the third and fourth place teams will go to the fourth qualifying round.
Hong Myung-bo conducted his final training session at Mir Stadium on the 14th, the day before the match. All 26 players, including Lee Seung-woo and Moon Sun-min (North Jeolla Province), joined the training on this day without leaving. There was a variable. The training was originally scheduled to take place at 4 p.m. However, the scheduled time began at 4:40, 40 minutes later.
There was a reason. It was because of doping. The team was contacted by the Korea Anti-Doping Commission (KADA) one hour before training. Eight people were randomly tested for doping during training shifts. An official of the national team said, `In principle, the protocol of doping should be done without prior notice. In some cases, requests are received on the morning of the game. It's something you have to accept while preparing for the game."
The problem was the schedule. The official said "Doping inspection is not easy. You have to have a lot of urine. Depending on the situation, it can take hours. So some players submitted a set amount of urine, but many did not. As the training time was delayed, the next schedule, such as dinner, was inevitably delayed. There was also an Iraqi training schedule." In the end, coach Hong came forward. An official said "Director Hong has decided to delay it by making a request to the doping official himself. The players who have not yet submitted have decided to try again after training. "It's something to do, but it's true that there's a subtle disruption to tomorrow's game."
vanbasten@sportschosun.com
