Coach Hong Myung-bo, who took over the reins of the national soccer team again after 10 years of fierce public criticism, is getting down to the real work by announcing the ‘first draft list’. Attention is focused on whether new faces will be able to board the new ship.
Coach Hong Myung-bo will hold a press conference at the Football Association building in Shinmun-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul at 11:00 AM on the 26th to announce the list of national team players who will participate in the two consecutive matches of the third round of Asian qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North and Central America next month.
The national team, comprised of the players selected this time, will play its first World Cup qualifier against Palestine at 8 p.m. on September 5th at Seoul World Cup Stadium, and then travel to Oman to play its second match against Oman at 11 p.m. (Korean time) on the 10th at Sultan Qaboos Stadium in Muscat.
In the third round of World Cup qualifying, the top two teams in each group automatically advance to the finals, and Korea takes its first step toward advancing to the World Cup finals for the 11th consecutive time.
In particular, these two consecutive A-matches are drawing even more attention as they are the first official schedule for Coach Hong to take charge of the national team again.
Last month, the Korea Football Association appointed Hong as the successor to Jurgen Klinsmann and signed a contract until the 2027 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup.
Coach Hong’s appointment as head coach of the national team comes 10 years after the team was eliminated in the group stage of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
At that time, Coach Hong was in charge of the national team for a year amid controversy over loyalty, and the team performed poorly with 5 wins, 4 draws, and 10 losses, and also made a dismal exit from the World Cup with 1 draw and 2 losses. 1 draw and 2 losses is the worst record among the World Cups that Korea has participated in in the 21st century.
Coach Hong’s return to the national team after 10 years as the head coach requires both good content and results. Only then can he appease the criticism.
It has been 40 days since the Korea Football Association appointed Coach Hong, but the controversy surrounding him is still ongoing. Even the National Assembly and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism are taking the lead in raising this issue. In this situation, if the results are not good, it is obvious that public opinion will worsen.
Both Palestine and Oman are objectively inferior to us in terms of power, but this is a match where we must give it our all without letting our guard down.
Hong Myung-bo has completed the formation of the coaching staff. Recently, Portuguese coaches Joao Aroso and Ago Maia were appointed, and coaches Park Geon-ha, Kim Dong-jin, and Kim Jin-gyu, goalkeeper coach Yang Young-min, and physical coaches Lee Jae-hong and Jeong Hyeon-gyu have joined the national team.
After that, he started working on the list of players to be called up for the first term. Since the 16th, Coach Hong has been going around K-League sites with the coaching staff to check players who are worthy of being selected for the national team. He is also planning to visit K-League stadiums on the 24th and 25th to select the final wheat and chaff.
As the result of the match is so important, it is unlikely that there will be any sudden, drastic changes. Key players such as Son Heung-min (Tottenham), Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich), Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain), Lee Jae-sung (Mainz), and Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton) are expected to wear the Taegeuk mark this time as well.
Here, some new faces are expected to receive the call from Manager Hong, who was on the scene as a K-League manager until recently.
The most notable rookie is 18-year-old Yang Min-hyeok, who led Gangwon to a K League 1 lead with 8 goals and 5 assists this season. With these spoils, he signed a contract with Son Heung-min’s team, Tottenham, until 2030.
Coach Hong also visited the Gangwon-Gwangju match held at Gangneung Stadium on the 18th and observed Yang Min-hyeok in person.
It is also worth watching whether Lee Seung-woo (Jeonbuk) and Hwang Moon-ki (Gangwon) will be selected. Lee Seung-woo scored 10 goals, the most among native players in K League 1 this season, and Hwang Moon-ki also tied for second place in this category with 6 assists.
The final entry for the World Cup qualifiers will be made up of 23 players, but the national team is expected to be composed of around 25 players, taking into account variables such as injuries, poor condition, and away games.
Meanwhile, the first Hong Myung-bo protection team is scheduled to convene at Goyang Stadium on September 2nd to conduct its first training.
(Seoul = News 1)
2024-08-24 04:23:32