*This content was translated by AI.
Cho Hyun-woo (34, Ulsan HD) seems to be virtually pushed out of the 2026 FIFA 2026 FIFA North and Central America World Cup main goalkeeper competition. He has allowed as many as nine runs in two recent A matches. However, behind the disastrous record as a goalkeeper is coach Hong Myung-bo's defensive tactics, which are still unstable ahead of the World Cup.
Cho Hyun-woo played as the starting full season against Ivory Coast at Stadium MK in Miltonkins, England, on the 28th (Korea Standard Time), but failed to prevent his team's 0-4 defeat by losing two goals each in the first and second half. In October last year, he bowed his head with another large number of goals in his first starting opportunity in four games after five goals against Brazil.
However, it was not possible to attribute only four runs to goalkeeper Cho Hyun-woo's responsibility. Cho Hyun-woo made four saves on the day in addition to four runs, and three of them were saves that blocked shots in the box. If it wasn't for Cho Hyun-woo's good defense, it was a game that could have resulted in a "catastrophic disaster" exceeding 0-4.
In this way, Cho Hyun-woo showed his unwavering ability to save despite four runs, but it was never easy to prevent the fatal mistakes of the previous defense or the crisis of losing points caused by lack of skills. In a situation where coach Hong Myung-bo's defensive tactics themselves are still unstable, any goalkeeper is bound to have a limit to his ability to defend himself.
What's more regrettable is that only Cho Hyun-woo kept the goal lonely in a game where his unstable Hong Myung-bo Team defense stood out. Not only against Brazil in October last year, but also against Ivory Coast this time, the opponent's offense was not easy. Cho Hyun-woo defended the goal in a game where the bare face of Hong Myung-bo Team's defense tactics could be revealed.
On the other hand, Kim Seung-gyu (36, FC Tokyo), his most likely competitor, kept his goal in two consecutive home games, which led to Paraguay in October and Bolivia in November last year, and played all scoreless games. It was true that they were relatively weak teams and the composition of the offense did not reach Brazil and Ivory Coast, which Cho Hyun-woo faced. Of course, in the process, Kim Seung-gyu also showed competitiveness, including stable defense capabilities, but the crisis situation and number of times heading to the Korean goal in conjunction with the opponent team's power were clearly different.
The goal against Austria at 3:45 a.m. on the 1st of next month is likely to be given to Kim Seung-gyu, not Cho Hyun-woo, due to the rotation flow. If the South Korean defense, which collapsed in the match against Ivory Coast, can be reorganized and avoid a large number of runs, the goal index will eventually become an important criterion, and the competition for the main goalkeeper of the World Cup is likely to end with Kim Seung-gyu's decision victory. Cho Hyun-woo, who failed to avoid a large number of runs due to coach Hong Myung-bo's defensive tactics, which are still unstable rather than his own sluggishness or fatal mistakes, has no choice but to feel unfair beyond regret. This is all the more so in that this World Cup is his last World Cup challenge.
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*This content was translated by AI.
