'MOM'Lee Kang-in's smile"Young players all have good skills, I need to work harder too"
Oct 15, 2024
|
|
It was the smile of Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain). Hong Myung-bo crossed the 5th buoy to North Korea, China and the U.S. South Korea beat Iraq 3-2 at 8 p.m. on the 15th with consecutive goals from Oh Se-hoon (Machida), Oh Hyun-kyu (Henk) and Lee Jae-sung (Mainz) in the fourth Group B match of the 2026 North-China World Cup Asia qualifying round at Yongin Mir Stadium in Gyeonggi Province. Coach Hong, who had a 0-0 draw with Palestine in his debut match and the first match at home, succeeded in winning his first home victory since taking office with a victory. Hong Myung-bo, who won both consecutive games against Jordan and Iraq, considered the biggest watershed in the third qualifying round, paved the way for his 11th consecutive World Cup finals. South Korea led Group B with 10 points (3 wins and 1 draw).
South Korea was in Group B along with Iraq, Jordan, Palestine, Oman, and Kuwait. In the third qualifying round, 18 teams will be divided into three groups of six teams and play a full league home and away. A total of six teams, ranked first and second in each group, will win tickets to the World Cup finals. The third and fourth places will go to the fourth preliminary round.
|
Lee Kang-in was replaced by Hong Hyun-seok (Minutes) in the 40th minute of the second half and retreated to the bench. Fans gave Lee Kang-in a warm round of applause. However, the expected attack point was not recorded. This is because the opponent was roughly divided into two or three players whenever Lee Kang-in caught the ball. However, Lee Kang-in reversely used this to give his teammates a chance. South Korea scored Oh Se-hoon's first goal in the 40th minute of the first half. While Lee Kang-in stole the opponent's attention, there were plays aiming for Iraq's back space. In addition, Lee Kang-in added strength to the team by using de-pressurization and ballkeeping ability, which are 'Specialties'. He also had the pleasure of being selected as MOM (Man of the Match) after the game.
Lee Kang-in, who went to the press conference after the game, said "It was a very important game, but everyone played hard together, and the coaching staff prepared hard, so the results came out good." I think we need to develop further in the future." He then gave a thumbs-up to young players who have newly joined the team. Lee Kang-in said "The new players and young players all have good skills. I thought I should try to do so so that I can continue to be a more helpful player together in the future."
vanbasten@sportschosun.com
