'First match was hope, second was shock' The true face of Moreno's team... 'Two extremes' in two games, the test has now begun [On-site at Sangam]

*This content was translated by AI.

The first match was hope. The second was shock.

The Korean national football team, which announced a new start under interim manager Roberto Moreno, showed two extremes in just two matches.

The Republic of Korea national football team led by Manager Moreno suffered a heavy 1-4 defeat against Uruguay in the Hana Bank Invitational National Team Friendly Match held at Seoul World Cup Stadium on the 28th.

The start was good. In Manager Moreno's debut match against Ecuador, held at Suwon World Cup Stadium on the 24th, Korea secured a big 3-0 victory.

However, in just four days, the atmosphere changed completely.

In the match against Uruguay, Korea conceded three goals in the first half alone and was greatly shaken. They allowed one more goal in the second half, widening the score to 0-4. Korea narrowed the gap with a consolation goal by Son Heung-min (LAFC) in the 35th minute of the second half, but could not turn the game around.

In particular, the first-half performance was disappointing.

Korea struggled against Uruguay's pressure while trying to move the ball forward from the back, and failed to properly control the opened-up space after losing possession. This led to a large number of goals conceded.

Manager Moreno also acknowledged tactical issues after the match.

He said, "We had a game management plan prepared for the first half, but we discovered problems as the game progressed," adding, "Unfortunately, we realized it a bit late, and the score gap had already widened significantly."

He continued, "I changed the player placement and game management style to help the players. I judged that it could be helpful."

In fact, Korea made major changes at the start of the second half.

They placed more numbers in the center, attempting a more stable game operation than in the first half, and created several scoring opportunities.

Manager Moreno evaluated, "In the second half, the football we wanted to play appeared a bit more," adding, "There were several opportunities, and we could have narrowed the score gap."

However, that did not change the result. Korea suffered a shocking 1-4 defeat at home.

The gap between the two matches was too large.

It is now time to confirm where the true competitiveness of Moreno's team lies.

Korea has two more friendly matches remaining in October.

They will face Venezuela at Ulsan Munsu Football Stadium on the 2nd of next month, and take on Uzbekistan at Yongin Mir Stadium on the 6th.

These are also important matches for the head coach. Manager Moreno is not a permanent head coach with a long-term contract, but an interim manager leading the Hyeon Jae (CEO) team. The time given to him is not much.

He must grasp the players in a short period, impose the football he wants, and produce results at the same time.

The match against Ecuador raised expectations, but the match against Uruguay exposed both tactical problems and defensive instability simultaneously.

Ultimately, the remaining two matches are expected to be a test of how quickly Manager Moreno can correct the problems revealed in the first two matches and provide answers.

Manager Moreno revealed his will to turn the atmosphere around in the remaining matches.

He said, "We will go through the same process as when we won the previous match," adding, "We will look at what we did well and what we did poorly, and this applies not only to the players but also to myself."

He then stated, "The match against Venezuela is an opportunity to shake off the bad luck of the defeat against Uruguay," continuing, "I want to make football fans happy. We could not do so today, but I will strive to find solutions with the players and help them."

Fortunately, the return of key national team midfielder Hwang In-beom (FC Porto) is also expected. Hwang was unable to play in the previous two matches. Manager Moreno stated, "I expect him to be available for the match against Venezuela."

He also conveyed his intention to check as many different players as possible in the remaining two matches.

Manager Moreno said, "We currently have 28 players, and I want to give playing opportunities to all of them as much as possible," explaining, "Now is a process where the manager and players are getting to know each other. The best stage to check how well the players understand and accept the tactical concepts we convey is actual matches."

He added, "Players who have newly received opportunities also showed good form. We called them up to this Seon Su-deul-eul (CEO) team because we judged that they were fully capable of playing in the match."

The first match showed hope, and the second left a big homework assignment. The performance shown in the remaining two matches is expected to be an important criterion for judging the true competitiveness of Moreno's team.

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*This content was translated by AI.