Fears of 'again' crushing defeat in Hong Myung-bo Team increase, Austrian expedition burden 'stronger' than Ivory Coast

*This content was translated by AI.

Concerns over another "defeat" are growing even before the shock of the South Korean national soccer team's 0-4 defeat in Ivory Coast. This is because the FIFA ranking is higher than that of Ivory Coast and the Austrian match, which is burdened with away trips, is waiting. Even with the return of injured players, Austria's power is likely to be stronger.

The South Korean national soccer team, led by head coach Hong Myung-bo, will play its second A-match warm-up match against Austria in March at 3:45 a.m. (Korea Standard Time) on the 1st of next month at Ernst Havel Stadion in Vienna, Austria. The FIFA ranking is higher for South Korea at 22nd and Austria at 24th, but it is 13 places higher than Ivory Coast (37th), where South Korea suffered a 0-4 defeat earlier.

Moreover, unlike the match against Ivory Coast in Miltonkins, England, which is a neutral area, the match against Austria has to be played on the road. According to local reports, more than 30,000 tickets have already been sold. From Hong Myung-bo Team's point of view, it is also necessary to confront the unilateral support of Austrian fans.

To make matters worse, the atmosphere is 'extremely extreme'. South Korea headed to Austria after suffering a crushing defeat by Ivory Coast, while Austria defeated Ghana 5-1 on the same day. Against a team that South Korea won 1-0 at home last November, Austria scored five shots, nearly half of its 11 shots. With expectations rising ahead of the 2026 FIFA 2026 FIFA North and Central America World Cup, South Korea will be brought home.

Even key players are likely to return to the against South Korea / vs. Korea. According to Austria's APA news agency, David Alaba (Real Madrid), Konrat Leimer (Bayern Munich), and Ksaber Schlager (Lefich), who were absent in the last match against Ghana due to injury, are likely to return to team training and participate in the against South Korea / vs. Korea. Analysts say that he is far superior to Ivory Coast in terms of players such as Marcel Javicher (Dortmund) and front-line striker Michael Gregorisch (Auxburg), who had one goal and two assists in the match against Ghana.

Of course, South Korea is also likely to put weight on the starting lineup, such as Son Heung-min (LAFC) and Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain), who were substituted in the last match against Ivory Coast. However, apart from the team's face, the problems of coach Hong Myung-bo's tactics themselves are prominent in the last match against Ivory Coast, and the key is how much it can change its unstable performance. If the team fails to stabilize quickly tactically, another crushing defeat could follow the match against Ivory Coast.

Austria is the first team to qualify for the World Cup in 28 years since the 1998 World Cup in France to pass Group H in the European qualifying round in 2026 FIFA North and Central America World Cup. In this World Cup, he was in Group J along with Argentina, Algeria, and Jordan. From Hong Myung-bo Team's point of view, it is meaningful to prepare for the opponent in the first round of the World Cup group stage, which has been compressed to Denmark or the Czech Republic. It is actually the last warm-up match before the announcement of the final entry for the World Cup.

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*This content was translated by AI.