Jesus Casas, the coach of the Iraq national soccer team that lost against the Korean national soccer team, said, “Korea showed a different style of play than the Klinsmann era.”
On the 15th, the Korean national soccer team led by coach Hong Myung-bo defeated Iraq 3-2 in the 4th game of Group B of the 2026 North and Central America World Cup 3rd qualifying round held at Mir Stadium in Yongin.
Coach Casas said at a press conference after the game, “The biggest difference between (Korea) and the friendly game (last January) is that they played a different style of game,” and added, “Coach Klinsmann’s lineup at the time was different from today’s lineup. “There was a difference in the players who started,” he said.
In this game, in the absence of captain Son Heung-min (32, Tottenham) and Hwang Hee-chan (28, Wolverhampton) due to injury, new strikers such as Oh Se-hoon (25, Machida), Oh Hyun-gyu (23, Genk), and Bae Jun-ho (21, Stoke City) scored goals and assists. It attracted attention.
Coach Casas particularly selected Lee Kang-in (23, Paris Saint-Germain) as a threatening player for the Korean national team. He said, “We had two left fullbacks. “It was to block a good Korean player named Lee Kang-in,” he said. “Lee Kang-in is the most dangerous player. “I think we controlled Lee Kang-in in today’s game,” he said.
However, he said, “We did very well in that aspect, but we didn’t create many opportunities on the offensive side.”
Lee Kang-in played as a side attacker during the game and was unable to increase his attack points, but he contributed to the development of the Korean national team’s attack by dragging several defenders throughout the game.
In addition, regarding the movements of Lee Jae-seong (32, Mainz), Coach Casas said, “It seems that we did not respond appropriately to Lee Jae-seong’s positioning,” and added, “Player number 10 (Jae-seong Lee) stood out, and player number 11 (Seon-min Moon) also stood out. “It came in,” he said.
He said, “Korea seems to have a well-organized team,” and “They showed a very proactive attitude even when they were ahead 3 to 1.”
He added, “We played a good game, but I think Korea’s high-level players decided the outcome of the game.”
On this day, Korea defeated Iraq with Oh Se-hoon’s first goal in the first half and Oh Hyun-gyu and Lee Jae-seong’s goals in the second half. Currently, Korea has accumulated 10 points with 3 wins and 1 draw, solidifying its lead in the group, while Iraq remains in 2nd place with a 3-point gap.
Choi Jae-ho, Donga.com reporter cjh1225@donga.com