"Timid" Hong Myung-bo, a winning player who can't float even though he's losing... Repeated 'replacement' without tactical change

*This content was translated by AI.

I was desperate for a goal. It wasn't a tight balance, but it was a losing situation if it ended like this. The bench's replacement strategy and bold winning move were therefore needed more. Coach Hong Myung-bo, however, only changed players in the same position while maintaining the tactics. The basic tactics themselves are not threatening, and simple player replacement alone could not have caused a reversal.

The stage was a warm-up match against Austria held at Ernst Havel Stadium in Vienna, Austria on the 1st (Korea Standard Time). It was Hong Myung-bo Team's second warm-up match in March after losing 0-4 to Ivory Coast on the 28th of last month and the last warm-up match ahead of the announcement of the final entry for the World Cup. In the FIFA rankings, South Korea ranked 22nd and Austria 24th. It was also meant to prepare for the winner of the European Playoff (PO), the first opponent of the World Cup group stage.

Coach Hong Myung-bo brought out the same 3-4-2-1 model as he did during the last crushing defeat in Ivory Coast as predicted. Instead, he changed eight of the 11 starters. Looking at the starting lineup alone, it is certainly more weighty than the match against Ivory Coast. In fact, South Korea led 6-1 in the number of shots in the first half. It was different from the previous game, which collapsed with two goals in the first half alone. It was a bit disappointing that Son Heung-min (LAFC) showed his disappointment in his goal-making ability, including a finish that was not like that of LAFC.

However, he was hit in the third minute of the second half. The South Korean defense collapsed without fail due to the opponent's pass play. Many defenders were helpless by passes to the back of the defense and successive cutbacks. The atmosphere leans in an instant. Austria, which was backed by enthusiastic support from home fans, boosted its momentum and aimed for an additional goal.

There was a desperate need for a change of atmosphere. The most obvious was a change in tactics through replacement. However, in the 18th minute of the second half, head coach Hong Myung-bo excluded Lee Tae-seok (Austria Vienna), Lee Jae-sung (Mainz), and Kim Jin-kyu (Jeonbuk Hyundai), instead, Yang Hyun-joon (Celtic), Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton) and Hong Hyun-seok (Hent). Relatively more aggressive players were put in instead, but only the players were replaced while maintaining the overall framework.

The same was true when the game was heading into the second half. As it was a warm-up match anyway, the burden of additional runs was small. Rather than losing points, the will to balance somehow was more important. He had to check the changes in tactics that could increase the number of strikers or create goals even by changing tactics in practice. Indeed, we had to put it to the test in preparation for the World Cup, where just one goal is important.

However, even in the last replacement timing, coach Hong Myung-bo failed to throw a winning move in the end. Seol Young-woo (Trvena Zvezda), Son Heung-min (LAFC), Baek Seung-ho (instead of Birmingham), and Um Ji-sung (Swansea City), Oh Hyun-kyu (Besikta City) and Kwon Hyuk-kyu (Carlsruhe), respectively, were put in. As expected, only the players have changed to the basic framework of 3-4-2-1. Coach Hong was not bold at the time when not only Son Heung-min and Oh Hyun-kyu played simultaneously, but also Cho Kyu-sung (Mit Willan) had to put a lot of weight on the front in some cases. In the end, the match ended in South Korea's 0-1 defeat without a turnaround.

It was also compared to Japan's recent choice against Scotland. At the time, Japanese national team coach Hajime Moriyasu scored in the 39th minute of the second half after putting a large number of offensive resources in front of him after the middle of the second half when he failed to break the balance even after leading the game. Even at the time, Japan threw a bold game plan, risking the possibility of defeat due to a loss, and even had a real effect. Thanks to this, we have confirmed a replacement strategy that can bring up a desperate situation in the upcoming World Cup.

On the other hand, coach Hong Myung-bo's timid replacement strategy ended without even much income. It was more painful that he failed to confirm not only the poor performance of all two matches, 0 points and 5 points, but also the replacement strategy to be used in the future World Cup. The opening of the World Cup is only about 70 days away, and the only opportunity for warm-up matches left in Hong Myung-bo Team is the final warm-up matches to be held in Mexico or the United States after the announcement of the final entry for the World Cup.

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

*This content was translated by AI.