*This content was translated by AI.
Even foreign media are suspicious of director Hong Myung-bo. Despite acknowledging that he had a strong offense, he was not sure about the ability of the head coach who had failed in the World Cup finals.
Sports media "DAZN" precisely analyzed Group A, which includes South Korea, ahead of the opening of the 2026 FIFA North-China World Cup on the 1st (Korea Standard Time).
In particular, the media diagnosed the possibility of passing the group stage along with a cold evaluation of coach Hong Myung-bo.
"DAZN" expressed both expectations and concerns about Hong Myung-bo, who leads the Korean national team. Regarding coach Hong Myung-bo, the media said, "He is the main player who led the 2002 World Cup semifinals as a player. He said, "I'm currently trying for my second World Cup and aiming for success."
However, he left a painful point, referring to past failure cases. "Korea reached the finals with an unbeaten record in the World Cup qualifiers," DAZN said, but added, "Coach Hong Myung-bo did not win at the 2014 Brazil World Cup. Therefore, there are still doubts about coach Hong Myung-bo," he stressed.
In addition, 'DAZN' also cited captain Son Heung-min (LAFC) as a key player for South Korea. "A new generation is flowing into the Korean national team, but the team's symbol and captain is still Son Heung-min," the media said. "South Korea's success depends on the toes of Son Heung-min, who plays for LAFC in the U.S. Major League Soccer (MLS)." In addition, Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton Wanderers) and Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich) are more European players than ever before, so they said they will seek to advance to the round of 16.
Amid doubts about "DAZN," Hong Myung-bo Team failed to produce results in two consecutive A matches about two months before the finals. The South Korean national soccer team, led by head coach Hong Myung-bo, fell into the worst crisis ever in its away match in Europe in March, the last mock test before the announcement of the final entry for the World Cup. Following the 0-4 defeat against Ivory Coast on the 28th, the team lost 0-1 in the warm-up match against Austria in Vienna, Austria, on the 1st, losing all two games.
Coach Hong Myung-bo focused on checking Plan A in this away game and stuck to the 3-4-2-1 model. In the match against Austria, he tried to change the starting list of eight, but failed to resolve the three-back's chronic defensive instability. In the 3rd minute of the second half, he failed to control the opponent's penetration space at all, even though there were a number of defenders such as Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich), Kim Joo-sung (Sanfrecce Hiroshima), and Lee Han-beom (Mit Willan) in the process of giving up the winning goal to Marcel Jabicher. This was a repetition of the defense line collapsing in front of the opponent's individual skills despite Kim Min-jae's struggles in the previous match against Ivory Coast.
The lack of decisiveness of the offense was also serious. 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 match against Ivory Coast, Oh Hyun-kyu (Besiktashi) and Seol Young-woo (Trvena Zvezda) were unlucky to hit the post three times, but as a result, they exposed their limits by not shaking the opponent's net once for 180 minutes.
DAZN's evaluation of its counterparts foreshadowed Korea's bumpy road. First of all, regarding Mexico (16th), which will play at home for the first time in 40 years, he said, "The home advantage is absolute and the group league's opening is likely," adding, "It is a team to pay attention to at this summer's World Cup." In particular, he emphasized that he is maintaining the best atmosphere by winning his first Nations League and Gold Cup in 2025.
As for South Africa (60th), he said, "It is a team that beat African powerhouse Nigeria to join the group as the No. 1 player in the group. The team and coaches have maintained stable over the past five years, so the organization is solid," he said. The media said, "South Africa may seem a somewhat unfamiliar team," but mentioned the possibility of advancing to the round of 16 for the first time in history, saying, "This unfamiliarity can serve as a strength in the expanded World Cup format."
As for the Czech Republic (44th place), which defeated Ireland and Denmark in the playoffs one after another, he said, "I have already proved my determined performance in the process of reaching the U.S. World Cup," and predicted, "Even though I am in a relatively competitive group, I can advance to the round of 16." In particular, he highly appreciated the concentration and goal-scoring ability that sank a strong favorite like Denmark.
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*This content was translated by AI.
