'Consistent style' Japan-Iran flees further, South Korea busy worrying about grass
'Consistent style' Japan-Iran flees further, South Korea busy worrying about grass
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Hong Myung-bo, who was evaluated as not a "group of death," is in danger of not being able to confirm his early advance to the World Cup finals.
The national soccer team lost the first goal of Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton) at home against Oman in Group C of the third Asian qualifying round for the 2026 North-China World Cup at Goyang Stadium on the 20th.
Although it maintained the top spot with 15 points, Jordan beat Palestine 3-1 on the morning of the 21st (12 points, goal difference +6). It was fortunate that third-place Iraq (12, +2) had a blood clot with rival fifth-place Kuwait (5 points) and drew 2-2.
Coincidentally, Jordan will compete at the Suwon World Cup Stadium on the 25th. Iraq will meet the Palestinians. Korea won 2-0 in away matches in Jordan, but it is difficult to rest easy. Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain) and Baek Seung-ho (Birmingham City) left due to injuries, creating a gap in the midfield. Iraq has experience of winning 1-0 in the last match against the Palestinians.
South Korea, which protects its No. 1 ranking only when it wins Jordan unconditionally. If Jordan beats South Korea, the ranking could change by goal difference. Assuming that Iraq beats Palestine, the three teams are tied with 15 points.
As Korea missed the match, which it needed to win at home, its agony grew even bigger. Some German media even argue that if Korea cannot advance to the finals without Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich), what kind of team would it be.
As 4.5 tickets have been expanded to 8.5 tickets, the resting game has virtually disappeared, given that securing at least the second place in the group can directly lead the team, and if the team ranks third through fourth, it can decide whether or not it will advance to the finals through the playoffs. As Korea has changed its strategy to secure at least one point and a maximum of fourth place, the team is rushing to Korea in every match.
Captain Son Heung-min (Tottenham Hotspur) said, "The final qualifying round may be easy, but the Asian level has risen a lot. Every game is difficult. We have to prepare and study more. Today's game was a game where you can feel more teaching and learning," stressing that it is still a difficult game.
Team Korea needs to be thickened, but Korea is still deeply concerned. As Japan defeated Bahrain 2-0 to confirm the top spot in Group C with 19 points, Japan is heading to North, Central and South America first in the world. Indonesia, which was well-made by former coach Shin Tae-yong in Australia and Saudi Arabia, and China, which chanted "夢" with "yellow money" to Bahrain, an ambush in the Middle East, were dizzy, but organic team play is overwhelming due to constant small passes.
Japan, which has selected European players from goalkeepers to field players, has consistently maintained its leader, Hajime Moriyasu, who has been in charge since 2018, and confirmed its advance to the finals due to the luck of continuity. He expressed confidence, saying, "I will win the remaining three games." This is the result of Moriyasu's good mix of Japan's philosophy with the basic framework laid by overseas leaders.
Japan, like Korea, is in the same condition to play after three to four days of training. Since the two consecutive games are held at the same home, a comparison is inevitable. Even if European players are in different physical conditions and their teams have different situations, it is necessary to look back on whether there are any problems in the science of managing them. The European office, which was established in Germany, can be seen as one of the areas that reveals Korea and Japan's perception of player management.
Iran in Group A also beat Paulo Bento's third-place United Arab Emirates (10 points) 2-0 and virtually confirmed its advance to the finals with 19 points. Second-place Uzbekistan (16 points) can also confirm its first advance to the finals in a showdown with Iran on the 25th. Analysts say that it was possible because Iran's unique defense was strong and its sticky style of enjoying a heavy attack remained unshakable in the overwhelming group, which is not easy for Qatar, the host of the last World Cup, to take the lead in an unshakable group.
Although European leagues are not universal, it is one of the tasks of the national team to worry about the operation of tactics just because one player is missing. Even if the unique soccer philosophy of Korean soccer had not changed in the process of appointing the national team, it was possible to maintain stability and walk a straight path, but various situations are not helping. The infrastructure is still close to underdeveloped countries, so the away game grass is better.
The grass at Goyang Stadium was better, but it was only as high as possible. There were also many cases where the side lawn came up during the game. Lee Tae-seok (Pohang Steelers) repeatedly stepped on and pressed on the dug grass, but to no avail. Lee Kang-in's injury also requires a number of complex circumstances, but there are aspects that cannot be said to be very related to the grass.
Baek Seung-ho, who had some problems with his hamstring, said, "If I put the weight on it, the grass will rise and it was too hard when I first worked out. I heard from Korean players that it is still the best stadium in Korea."
The situation in which players have to play while worrying about the grass is contrary to the reality that there are more and more European teams. As the soccer community explains more to the main body that manages the stadium, it faces the agony of finding improvements.
Team Korea will train at Mir Stadium in Yongin on Tuesday and Sunday. They will train at a place where grass is said to be good, and then have a rehearsal against Jordan at Suwon World Cup Stadium on Wednesday.
Japan has already set its first A-match day since the end of the final qualifying round, in September. It has many implications. Even if Japan passes the group qualifying round under the 48-nation system, it is far compared with Japan, which dreams of advancing to the quarterfinals or higher at the World Cup, which is a disgrace if it fails to pass the round of 32, and Korea, which has difficulty in dreaming about anything yet. 토토사이트
There are reasons why Korea ranks 23rd in the FIFA rankings, while Japan ranks 15th and Iran 18th. Korea needs to think hard not to be caught up with Australia, which ranks 26th.