'0 goals and 2 consecutive defeats' Hong Myung-bo → 'England's smash and unexpected event' Japan... What should I do about the soccer gap between South Korea and Japan

*This content was translated by AI.

The gap between Korea and Japan is growing uncontrollably. While the South Korean national soccer team lost two consecutive games just two months before the 2026 FIFA North-China World Cup, Japan, which is confident of winning the World Cup, caused an all-time turmoil that sank England at Wembley, the holy site of soccer.

The South Korean national soccer team, led by head coach Hong Myung-bo, lost 0-1 to Austria in a warm-up match at Ernst Havel Stadium in Vienna, Austria on the 1st (Korea Standard Time).

It is a total of two away matches in Europe following the 0-4 defeat against Ivory Coast on the 28th. He fell into the worst crisis ever, writing a disgraceful record of 0 points and 5 runs during the A-match in March, the last mock test before the announcement of the final entry for the World Cup.

Even in the two A matches in March, coach Hong Myung-bo focused on checking Plan A. Despite the devastation against Cote d'Ivoire, he stuck to a 3-4-2-1 formation against Austria.

Hong Myung-bo Team, which desperately needed to win, tried to change the starting list by changing eight players, but failed to solve the chronic problem of the three-back. In the third minute of the second half, Marcel Javicher (Dortmund) connected Ksaber Schlager's cutback with a right-footed non-stop shot from the gate to open the Korean goal. Even though there were a number of defenders such as Kim Joo-sung (Sanfrecce Hiroshima), Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich), and Lee Han-beom (Mit Willan) in the penalty box, they could not control the opponent's penetration and shooting space at all.

He also exposed serious defensive instability against Ivory Coast. At that time, South Korea operated a three-back leading to Kim Tae-hyun (Kashiwa Reysol), Kim Min-jae and Cho Yoo-min (Sharja), but the defense line collapsed in front of the opponent's individual skills. Even though world-class center back Kim Min-jae struggled, it was not enough to fill the holes of the defense that had already cracked.

The lack of determination of the offense was also painful. Son Heung-min (LAFC), who started against Austria, faced several decisive one-on-one opportunities with support from Lee Jae-sung (Mainz) and Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain), but his shot turned away from the goal or was blocked by the goalkeeper. In the 18th minute of the second half, Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton), Hong Hyun-seok (Hent), and Yang Hyun-joon (Celtic) made changes, but the results did not change. Although Oh Hyun-kyu (Besiktashi), Seol Young-woo (Trvena Zvezda), and Lee Kang-in's shots in the match against Ivory Coast were unfortunate to hit the post three times, they could not shake the opponent's net for 180 minutes as a result.

This European expedition is the biggest crisis since the inauguration of the head coach Hong Myung-bo. The impact is even greater because it was a customized warm-up match targeting South Africa and European playoff pass D (Czech Republic), the group stage opponents. With the main midfielders and defense just around the corner, the inexperienced response was fatal.

On the other hand, Japan, which has vowed to win the World Cup, produced an extraordinary event that sank England, ranked fourth in the FIFA rankings, at Wembley, the holy site of soccer. In a friendly match against England on the same day, Japan won 1-0 thanks to a fantastic winning goal by Kaoru Mitoma (Brighton and Hove Albion). As a result, Japan recently won five consecutive A matches, proving that "Japan is the strongest dark horse that will threaten the World Cup favorite" that coach Hajime Moriyasu guaranteed is by no means a pretense.

Japan scored the first goal in the 23rd minute of the first half in the enemy territory. Kaoru Mitoma (Brighton and Hove Albion) stole the ball from Cole Palmer (Chelsea) and beat Kobe Mainu (Manchester United) with an explosive dribble. Mitoma, who then exchanged passes with Keito Nakamura (Lance), shook England's net with an elaborate finish.

He also won the tactical battle perfectly. Based on the 3-4-2-1 type, Japan completely blocked England's pass path with efficient counterattacks and strong pressure despite a low 31% share. In the 42nd minute of the first half, Ayase Ueda (Feyenoord)'s shot, which received a pass from Sano Kaishu (Mainz), hit Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa) and hit the post, causing England's bloodshed.

In the second half, manager Thomas Tuchel tried to turn the tables by putting in Marcus Rashford (FC Barcelona) and Harry Maguire (Manchester United). However, England finally knelt down after Maguire's Heather and Morgan Rogers (Aston Villa) shot were blocked by Yukinari Sugawara (Verder Bremen) and save by Zaion Suzuki (Parma).

The European region was also tongue-in-cheek with Japan's outstanding performance. "England's World Cup appearance ceremony ended in boos," the Guardian said. "England was completely played by Japan's organized defense and Mitoma's speed."

"The BBC" also said of England's helpless loss to Japan, "England relied on the primitive way of attaching a long ball to Maguire, a defender who was eventually replaced," adding, "This attack was ugly and not effective at all against Japan."

In October last year, Japan completely proved its competitiveness in the finals by taking the all-time rise from Brazil (3-2 win) to Ghana (2-0), Bolivia (3-0), and Scotland (1-0). On the other hand, coach Hong Myung-bo continued his tactical stubbornness with less than three months left before the finals, but faced a crisis of the World Cup catastrophe, leaving only a disastrous result of a scoreless mass loss.

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*This content was translated by AI.