Hong Myung-bo's 'average Hong Myung-bo Team' Austrian home firepower 'test' despite '0-4 crushing defeat'

*This content was translated by AI.

The South Korean national soccer team will go on an away trip to Austria. Coach Hong Myung-bo said there was no change in tactics despite the 0-4 defeat against Ivory Coast, and the national team's defensive tactics were put to the test again in front of the stronger Austrian firepower at home.

The South Korean national team, led by head coach Hong Myung-bo, will face Austria at 3:45 a.m. on the 1st of next month at Ernst Havel Stadium in Vienna, Austria. It is the last warm-up match before the announcement of the final entry for the 2026 FIFA 2026 FIFA North and Central America World Cup. South Korea is ranked 22nd and Austria 24th in the FIFA rankings.

It will have a warm-up match in the atmosphere of polar opposites. South Korea suffered a 0-4 defeat to Ivory Coast (37th in FIFA ranking) in a neutral warm-up match held in England on the 28th. On the same day, Austria defeated Ghana (72nd) 5-1 at its home ground. Hong Myung-bo Team, which exposed defensive instability against Ivory Coast's attackers, is on the road to Austria, which has scored five goals against Ghana.

Coach Hong Myung-bo, however, expressed his intention to maintain the existing tactics based on three-backs in a pre-official press conference in preparation for the match against Austria. Coach Hong said, "It will not deviate much from what we are doing now (tactically)," adding, "We don't have time to prepare new things." In the A-match held after the World Cup qualifiers, Hong used a three-back tactic in all six games (excluding the East Asian Cup) except for the match against Bolivia in November last year.

In the match against Austria, Cho Yoo-min (Sharja), who was "knife replaced" at the end of the first half by providing an excuse for a run due to repeated mistakes against Ivory Coast, is expected to be reorganized to the extent that Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich) moves to the side rather than the center of the three-back. In the center, Park Jin-seop (Joji) may get off or Lee Han-beom (Mit Willan) may be placed. Park Jin-seop will stand at the center of the three-back and Kim Min-jae will be placed as a left stopper, which was tested in the match against Paraguay or Ghana last year.

The problem is that it is unclear how much stability Hong Myung-bo's three-back strategy will be restored only by reconstructing the defense. In particular, anxiety is bound to grow in that Austria is a team that has a lower FIFA ranking than South Korea, but is showing great strength at home.

In fact, Austria has been undefeated (9 wins and 3 draws) in 12 consecutive games at home recently. It is the most undefeated tie in consecutive home games in Austrian football history. If he does not lose against South Korea on the day, he will set a new record of 13 consecutive matches for the first time in history. Local media are also very interested in this record. Around 40,000 spectators will also fill the stadium.

It's not just the result. In their 12th consecutive undefeated match, Austria defeated Germany 2-0 and defeated Turkiye 6-1. It is also notable that once it exploded, such as 4-0 against Kazakhstan, 5-1 against Norway, 10-0 against San Marino, and 5-1 against Ghana, the scary firepower continued in the process of 12 consecutive matches. Austria's latest home average is 3.3 goals (0.67 runs). It is truly a 'home superpower' team.

If it is a Hong Myung-bo Team defense tactic that is still unstable, we cannot rule out the possibility of facing another mass loss following the match against Ivory Coast. This is even more so in that it is a situation immediately after the weaknesses were exposed through the match against Ivory Coast. Just 72 days before the opening of the World Cup. If another "catastrophe" is recorded in the history of Korean soccer in the away match against Austria, Hong Myung-bo Team, which is about to win the World 2026 FIFA North and Central America World Cup, will also be in a serious "super emergency."

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*This content was translated by AI.