Even the world class has no business in front of overwork. Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich) made a fatal mistake in the World Cup qualifying round. Kim Min-jae's failure to arrange his physical strength returned to the boomerang. The central defender is a very ambiguous position to change according to tactical needs, so it can't be helped, but there is a lack of reliable players? 裏堅竪.
South Korea's men's soccer A team, led by head coach Hong Myung-bo, only drew 1-1 against Palestine in the sixth Group B match of the '2026 North-China World Cup' Asia 3rd qualifying round at Amman International Stadium in Jordan on the 19th (Korea time). The first goal allowed in the 12th minute of the first half was painful. Kim Min-jae's back pass to goalkeeper Cho Hyun-woo was short. The Palestinian striker intercepted it and scored easily. I felt like I gave up a goal for nothing.
Kim Min-jae is not the only one to blame. Kim Min-jae is a defender who has a reputation for accurate passes in Europe. Kim Min-jae succeeded in all 113 passes against Benfiki in the Champions League on the 7th. According to the statistics site 'Sofascore', Kim Min-jae is the first player in Champions League history to record a 100% success rate by attempting more than 103 passes. Kim Min-jae also proudly ranked first in the world center back rankings evaluated by the International Sports Research Institute (CIES) under the FIFA this month.
We have no choice but to look into the problem of physical strength. Except for Kim Min-jae, goalkeeper Cho Hyun-woo is the only player who played all six games of Asia's third qualifying round for the '2026 North Korea-China World Cup'. Among field players, only Kim Min-jae played without being replaced. Kim Min-jae is also playing as a built-in main player in his team, so it is natural that he is struggling. In addition, this time it was two consecutive away games in the Middle East. Rather, it was a situation to be relieved that the mistake was made only once.
Attackers and midfield can change fluidly according to the flow of the game. Therefore, absolute aces such as Son Heung-min (Tottenham) and Lee Kang-in (PSG) are often replaced. However, the central defender can only be excluded if there is a moment when he is really sure of winning. Kim Min-jae's partner Cho Yoo-min (Sharja) also played 90 minutes in four consecutive games. The reason why Cho Yoo-min is in four games is that the first and second games are in the process of finding Kim Min-jae's mate. Kim Young-kwon (Ulsan) played in the first round against Palestine and Jung Seung-hyun (Alwasle) played in the second round against Oman without replacement. In the end, at least one more main center back must be raised to prepare for any unexpected situation in the long run.
Cho Yoo-min also defended Kim Min-jae. Cho Yu-min had a tough game, losing points in the beginning. I don't think it's one mistake, it's the part that made a mistake as a team from the beginning of the situation." He then promised "As Kim Min-jae serves as the leader of defense, we will further develop the line control and the preparation for targeting the back space in line with Kim Min-jae." Cho Yoo-min said, `Although we didn't have good results today, I think it's positive that the national team doesn't have much ups and downs and that the play we want to do is consistently coming out.'
So this draw is all the more regrettable. If we had secured 16 points after catching Palestine, we would be able to play the remaining four qualifying games more comfortably. Along with the main physical strength arrangement, there is no room to give young players a chance. Captain Son Heung-min said, `I want to applaud the opposing team. He prepared brilliantly even in difficult situations, and showed his plan well on the field"I expressed respect for the Palestinian team. "I hope the players will unite next year to make a happy year for soccer fans and a special year for players as well," he added.
