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Coach Hong Myung-bo talking about his bid for Kuwait> (Kuwait City=Yonhap News) Reporter Hwang Kwang-mo = Coach Hong Myung-bo of the Korean national soccer team, who is trying to advance to the World Cup finals for the 11th consecutive time, speaks of his bid at the official press conference for the 5th Group B match against Kuwait at Jabeur Al Ahmed International Stadium in Kuwait on the afternoon of the 13th (local time). 2024.11.13
hkmpooh@yna.co.kr
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National soccer team's recovery team training
(Kuwait City=Yonhap News) Reporter Hwang Kwang-mo = Team Korea's captain Son Heung-min and players, who are trying to advance to the World Cup finals for the 11th consecutive time, are playing pass games in the afternoon of the 12th (local time) while head coach Hong Myung-bo looks on during team training at Abdullah Al Khalifa Stadium in Kuwait.
On this day, the national team trained for the first time as a whole as all overseas players, including captain Son Heung-min, arrived in Kuwait. 2024.11.13
hkmpooh@yna.co.kr
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"Son Heung-min, I will decide the playing time considering the overall situation."
Hong Myung-bo, head coach of the South Korean national team, was still cautious. Hong held an official press conference at Jabeur Al Ahmed International Stadium in Kuwait City, Kuwait on the 13th (Korea time). South Korea will play the fifth Group B match against Kuwait in the third Asian qualifying round for the 2026 North-China World Cup at the same place on the 14th. South Korea leads Group B with three wins and one draw and 10 points. If Kuwait is captured, it will cross the 7th-paradise line to the finals. In the third qualifying round, the first and second-place teams in each group will go straight to the finals.
"The match against Kuwait is important to the national team as it is the first of two consecutive away games in the Middle East. We need to win," Hong said. Through this, I want to win until the next game and finish my November schedule. I will prepare well today and have a good game tomorrow." We are one-up in objective power. Kuwait's FIFA ranking is 135th, which is a big gap with South Korea, which is 22nd. In particular, he boasts an overwhelming record of seven wins and one draw (including one confiscation win) in the last eight matches, while leading the past with 12 wins, four draws and eight losses. On October 8, 2015, the most recent away trip to Kuwait, he won 1-0 in the second Asian qualifying round for the 2010 World Cup in Russia with the winning goal of Koo Ja-cheol (Jeju).
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Coach Hong Myung-bo checking Son Heung-min's condition
(Kuwait City=Yonhap News) Reporter Hwang Kwang-mo = Coach Hong Myung-bo of the South Korean national soccer team, who is trying to advance to the World Cup finals for the 11th consecutive time, is looking at the movements of Son Heung-min, who joined the team in a team training session at Abdullah Al Khalifa Stadium in Kuwait on the afternoon of the 12th (local time).
On this day, the national team trained for the first time as a whole as all overseas players, including captain Son Heung-min, arrived in Kuwait. 2024.11.13
hkmpooh@yna.co.kr
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Attention is also focused on Son Heung-min (Tottenham). It is the first re-election in two months. Son Heung-min failed to join last month due to an injury to his hamstring (back muscle of his thigh). Fortunately, there was no leak. Hong cooked Jordan 2-0 on the road and then defeated Iraq 3-2 on the home turf. Lee Jae-sung (Minutes) and Oh Hyun-kyu (Henk) scored goals for the second consecutive game, and Bae Joon-ho (Stoke City) scored help for the second consecutive game. Oh Se-hoon (finishing) also reported his A-match debut goal.
After returning from the match against West Ham on the 19th of last month, Son Heung-min said, `On the one hand, I was worried and sad that I couldn't be with them. I think it's a very positive part for Korean soccer players to come forward and show great performance even in a difficult situation"All the players worked hard. The players should definitely be praised for playing well in a situation where the away game and the home game were not perfect. I was worried, but on the other hand, I think I was proud watching it."
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Coach Hong Myung-bo ahead of the two consecutive games in the Middle East
(Kuwait City=Yonhap News) Reporter Hwang Kwang-mo = Coach Hong Myung-bo of the Korean national soccer team, who is trying to advance to the World Cup finals for the 11th consecutive time, talks with Lee Kang-in during team training at Abdullah Al Khalifa Stadium in Kuwait on the afternoon of the 12th (local time).
On this day, the national team trained for the first time as a whole as all overseas players, including captain Son Heung-min, arrived in Kuwait. 2024.11.12
hkmpooh@yna.co.kr
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However, Son Heung-min missed his third consecutive game at Tottenham again due to recurrence of pain after the match against West Ham. After returning, he adjusted the playing time for 56 minutes (Aston Villa, 4-1 win) and 45 minutes (Galatasaray, 2-2 loss), and played full-time in the Ipswich match (1-2 loss) just before the national team was called up. Tottenham manager Enze Postecoglou said ahead of the Ipswich match, `We want a healthy Son Heung-min. I hope Son Heung-min will maintain good physical condition and contribute to each team"I think there will be a way to cooperate with the national team."
Coach Hong also plans to protect Son Heung-min as much as possible through selection and concentration. After the match against Kuwait, the sixth game against the Palestinians is waiting at Ammam in Jordan on the 19th, so arrangements are needed.
"Son Heung-min's physical condition is important to the national team," Hong said on Wednesday. It's really important to see Son Heung-min in good health. As soon as Son Heung-min joins the national team, we intend to decide the playing time through interviews." And "I never mean to overdo it in my current state. I'll judge Son Heung-min as an efficient way to use him," he stressed.
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Coach Hong Myung-bo checking Son Heung-min's condition
(Kuwait City = Yonhap News) Reporter Hwang Kwang-mo of the Korean national soccer team, who is trying to advance to the World Cup finals for the 11th consecutive time, is looking at the movements of Son Heung-min, who joined the team in a team training session at Abdullah Al Khalifa Stadium in Kuwait on the afternoon of the 12th (local time).
On this day, the national team trained for the first time as a whole as all overseas players, including captain Son Heung-min, arrived in Kuwait. 2024.11.13
hkmpooh@yna.co.kr
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Coach Hong Myung-bo watching the rehabilitation training
(Kuwait City=Yonhap News) Reporter Hwang Kwang-mo = Coach Hong Myung-bo of the Korean national soccer team, who is trying to advance to the World Cup finals for the 11th consecutive time, is watching the recovery team training including Son Heung-min at the Abdullah Al Khalifa Stadium in Kuwait on the afternoon of the 12th (local time).
On this day, the national team trained for the first time as a whole as all overseas players, including captain Son Heung-min, arrived in Kuwait. 2024.11.13
hkmpooh@yna.co.kr
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Coach Hong also said, `There was no direct contact with the national team at Tottenham. Son Heung-min is also an important player at Tottenham, so coach Postecoglou has no choice but to pay attention. "The results of the national team's game are important, but it is polite to the team to send the called-up player back healthy."
Coach Hong was also cautious at the press conference on the day. Hong said, `I arrived there a day later than the other players and focused on my recovery training. After today's official training session, I'm going to talk with Son about tomorrow's game in general. "I'm not at the stage to talk yet. I'm going to decide after training today."
"Son Heung-min joined the national team last weekend after playing full-time for 90 minutes in his team."`"Son Heung-min said he had no problem with the injury situation at all. As Son Heung-min played full-time, we will also decide the playing time considering the overall situation."
If Son Heung-min fails to start, Bae Joon-ho, Jung Woo-young (Woonion Berlin), and Lee Hyun-joo (Hanover) are expected to fill the vacancy.
vanbasten@sportschosun.com
