When Hwang In-beom was tied up, he ended up looking for Son Heung-min and Lee Kang-in → Good Homework for the Palestinians
Nov 20, 2024
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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).
Hwang In-beom (Feyenoord), the commander of the midfield, was tied up. When Hwang In-beom was hit by a concentrated economy, Korea's attack route became very simple. As a result, it was unable to break through the Palestinian dense defense, which is a step below objective power.
Korea maintained the top spot with four wins, two draws and 14 points. With four games left, second-place Iraq has 11 points and third-place Jordan has nine points. It will go straight to the finals until the second place.
It is necessary to develop various offensive tactics ahead of the remaining World Cup qualifiers and future finals.
So far, teams facing Korea have marked Son Heung-min (Tottenham) and Lee Kang-in (PSG). The skill was natural, and the value of the name and the weight of the team were unrivalled. However, they found a solution without difficulty, such as overcoming it with individual skills, luring defenders, and creating opportunities for teammates.
The story changed when Hwang In-beom, the starting point of the attack, was blocked. The Palestinians bullied Hwang in double and triple when the ball went to him. Hwang In-beom's pass accuracy began to decline. As Hwang In-beom's position to receive the ball gradually came down, the conversion of offense was delayed. When Hwang In-beom failed to exert influence in the attack area, South Korea did not seem to have a plan B in place.
During the fourth consecutive period of the third qualifying round, Hwang In-beom's pass success rate always exceeded 90%. Hwang In-beom recorded an average pass success rate of 92.25% in the past four games, 16 passes in the offensive area, and one foul. In particular, the previous match against Kuwait boasted high-efficiency plays with three opportunities created, two assists, and a 92% pass success rate, while touching only 83 times in 81 minutes. Son Heung-min even said that Zinedine Zidane, a legendary French midfielder, came to mind.
Against the Palestinians, Hwang In-beom's pass success rate dropped to 87%. The number of passes to the offensive zone also dropped sharply to 12. Cross went up in the fifth inning and all failed. He was even dealt a rough tackle that could have led to a major injury.
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Coach Hong Myung-bo's mercenary skills, which were exquisite as if riding a jokdu in the third qualifying round, also did not work this time. In the 19th minute of the second half, Oh Se-hoon was out and Joo Min-kyu entered. Lee Kang-in's cross also lost its strength when Oh Se-hoon, who had a great right to provide, came out. Eight minutes later, Oh Hyun-kyu and Bae Joon-ho were put in place of Lee Kang-in and Lee Jae-sung, but there was not enough time left.
After the game, head coach Hong Myung-bo said, `It is regrettable that the match itself will be tied. The players did their best until the end. There were physical difficulties in the two consecutive away games. There was also a scene where he was getting tired in the second half, but he did his best until the end. It's my last A match of the year, and I'm sorry to the fans for not winning. Looking at today's game, I think there are a lot of things to improve. If I go back, I think I need to analyze the whole thing and show a good performance in the game that starts next year", he commented in general.
dhhan@sportschosun.com
