"Hong Myung-bo's Hong Myung-bo Team" defense collapsed again due to three-back stubbornness, losing 0-1 to Austria.

*This content was translated by AI.

There was no reversal. Hong Myung-bo Team collapsed to Austria following Ivory Coast, finishing the away European warm-up match with all two losses. The 2026 FIFA North Korea-China World Cup, which is only 70 days away, is also on alert.

South Korea, led by head coach Hong Myung-bo, lost 0-1 to Austria in the A-match warm-up match held at Ernst Havel Stadium in Vienna, Austria, at 3:45 a.m. on the 1st (Korea time). South Korea is ranked 22nd and Austria 24th in the FIFA rankings.

South Korea, which suffered a crushing 0-4 defeat in a neutral warm-up match against Ivory Coast in Miltonkins, England, on the 28th of last month, lost only two games in a warm-up match in March. It was a more painful result in that this warm-up match was the last mock test before the announcement of the final entry for the World Cup.

In particular, coach Hong Myung-bo's concerns deepened in that the three-back tactics, which seemed to have been virtually confirmed as "Plan A" in the World Cup, were tested in both games, but both ended up with unstable defense. In addition, the silence of the offense, which has not scored a single goal in two games, has also emerged as an important task.

Despite the crushing defeat against Ivory Coast last month, coach Hong Myung-bo maintained the 3-4-2-1 type he used at the time. Instead, he changed eight of the 11 starters, making changes only to the composition of the players.

Son Heung-min (LAFC) was at the forefront, and Lee Jae-sung (Mainz) and Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain) stood on both sides. Lee Tae-seok (Austria Vienna), Kim Jin-kyu (Jeonbuk Hyundai), Baek Seung-ho (Birmingham City), and Seol Young-woo (Trvena Zvezda) stood in the midfield line. Kim Joo-sung (Sanfrecce Hiroshima) and Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich) and Lee Han-beom (Mit Willan) defended the defense line, while Kim Seung-gyu (FC Tokyo) defended the goal.

South Korea opened the game with a shot by Son Heung-min, who received a pass from Lee Jae-sung from the beginning of the game. After that, he cut off the development of Austria's attack based on strong pressure and sought an opportunity through counterattacks. In the 16th minute of the first half, he also had a decisive opportunity to score. Son Heung-min, who received Lee Han-beom's pass, completely penetrated the back space of the defense. Son Heung-min's left footed shot, which penetrated to the left of the goal area, turned away from the goal.

A battle of battles ensued. Fortunately, the crisis arising from Baek Seung-ho's defensive mistakes did not lead to threatening shots. Lee Kang-in and Kim Jin-kyu's shots were hit by the defense and led to a series of corner kicks. In the process, center back Kim Joo-sung was injured and was replaced in the 25th minute of the first half. South Korea led 6-1 in the number of shots in the first half. However, Kim Min-jae's missed header was the only effective shot.

South Korea, however, allowed the first run in the third minute of the second half. Ksaber Schlager's cutback from the side was connected with a right-footed non-stop shot from the gate by Marcel Javicher (Leifich) to open the Korean goal. Even though there were many defenders in the penalty box, the opponent created a shooting opportunity relatively easily and even scored.

South Korea, which had hardly set the tone after the first run, missed another decisive opportunity in the 16th minute of the second half. Seol Young-woo connected the pass Lee Kang-in gave to the side with a ground ball cross. However, Son Heung-min's left foot shot from the gate turned away from the post again. Son Heung-min also swallowed his regret while lying face down on the ground for a long time.

Coach Hong Myung-bo made a change in the 18th minute of the second half by simultaneously putting Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton), Hong Hyun-seok (Hent), and Yang Hyun-joon (Celtic) instead of Lee Jae-sung, Kim Jin-kyu and Lee Tae-seok. However, except for Kim Min-jae's missed header from a corner kick situation five minutes later, he failed to create a significant opportunity. On the contrary, Austria, which has found its way after the first goal, aimed for a loophole in South Korea's defense.

In the 28th minute of the second half, Son Heung-min missed another decisive opportunity. Son Heung-min, who received Lee Kang-in's pass and dug into the back space of the defense, faced the goalkeeper one-on-one again. However, Son Heung-min's left footed shot was blocked by the goalkeeper.

Coach Hong Myung-bo made the final change by excluding Son Heung-min, Baek Seung-ho, and Seol Young-woo and putting Oh Hyun-kyu (Henk), Kwon Hyuk-kyu (Carlsruhe) and Um Ji-sung (Swansea City). One goal is in desperate need, but rather than increasing the number of strikers, it was a replacement that maintained the typical type but exchanged between players with the same position.

Oh Hyun-kyu, who was a substitute, tried to equalize the goal with a strong shot immediately after entering, but was blocked by the goalkeeper again this time. The ball hit by the goalkeeper flowed toward the goal, but the goalkeeper caught it in front of the goal line. Although the offside decision came out, the defensive concentration also declined significantly, such as facing a perfect one-on-one crisis with the goalkeeper. The Hong Myung-bo Team effort that continued until the end of the game for the equalizer did not come to fruition in the end.

<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>

*This content was translated by AI.