'Korea's National Team GOAT' Park Ji-sung: "Do not think of a draw against South Africa; the key player is..." [World Cup ★]

*This content was translated by AI.

Park Ji-sung, a legend of South Korean football and commentator, identified a scoreless defense and maintaining a game plan without any lapse in concentration as the top priorities ahead of the final group stage match against South Africa.

On the morning of the 23rd (local time), at the University Stadium in Monterrey, Mexico, where the South Korean national team held training, Commissioner Park Ji-sung offered in-depth insights on the players' mindset, tactical preparations, and team atmosphere management for the match against South Africa.

South Korea is in a favorable position where a draw in this match against South Africa would be enough to advance to the Round of 32.

However, Commissioner Park strongly warned that the team must not fall into complacent calculations. He stated, "Even if South Korea advances with a draw, the attitude toward preparing for and approaching the match must not change. In terms of team strength, South Korea is a better team than South Africa. If we play as prepared, we can win easily. We must discard the idea of a draw and play to win unconditionally," cautioning against complacency.

He emphasized the importance of a scoreless defense and scoring the first goal to advance to the Round of 32. Commissioner Park said, "South Korea has not yet scored the first goal and played a match in this tournament. The players must have felt the necessity of scoring the first goal both mentally and physically more acutely. In the match against South Africa, scoring the first goal early will allow us to control the game more advantageously, and defensively, finishing the match with a scoreless result is quite important."

The one key player Commissioner Park identified for this final match is Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich), the center of the defense. He said, "To advance on our own, it is most important to prevent conceding the first goal and maintain the stability of the defensive line. At the center of this is Kim Min-jae. Despite Kim Min-jae showing good defensive performance by covering a lot during the first two matches and focusing on defense, he could not keep a scoreless match, so he must have been upset about it. In the third match, I hope he leads the defense well to achieve a scoreless result," expressing firm trust.

He did not omit a tactical analysis of the opponent, South Africa. South Africa needs a win and is likely to come out very aggressively from the start. Commissioner Park noted, "South Africa is a fast team that applies a lot of high pressing and pushes their full-backs to high positions. While their attacks on both flanks are sharp, conversely, in counter-attack situations, they consistently show the weakness of exposing large spaces on the sides."

He continued, "When South Africa is under pressure during build-up play from the back, mistakes often occur. If South Korea applies high pressing to force opponents into mistakes and wins the ball, how quickly they can occupy the space behind will change the result of the match," offering advice.

Regarding the height-based two-striker tactic aimed at South Africa's short defensive line raised by some, he added, "Having diverse options is certainly a good part, but utilizing height requires changes in players, so it is a problem the coach must deeply consider whether they can effectively lead the game for the full 90 minutes."

Having faced African dark horses such as Togo and Nigeria on past World Cup stages, Commissioner Park predicted, "South Africa's level will be similar to Togo, which we faced in 2006. If the national team performs at their full capability, there is a sufficient chance of winning."

Furthermore, to lift the spirits dampened by the loss in the second match, he stressed that the communication abilities of veterans such as Son Heung-min, Kim Min-jae, and Lee Jae-sung (Mainz) are more important than ever. Commissioner Park said, "When South Africa pushes hard from the early first half, we need central players who can stay steady and adjust the tempo. If experienced senior players possess the ball and increase possession without mistakes, they will naturally find confidence and gain an advantage in team strength."

To the younger players exhausted by the long camp life, he offered warm advice: "Young players have already overcome pressure in professional leagues and in Europe and are doing well. Communication outside the stadium, where they can energize each other and live comfortably, is more important than conversation inside the stadium. I hope they enjoy their life today and tomorrow and prepare for the match."

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*This content was translated by AI.