Hong Myung-bo had three valuable points in a shaky atmosphere. Even without captain Son Heung-min (32, Tottenham Hotspur), Hwang Hee-chan (28, Wolverhampton) and Um Ji-sung (22, Swansea City) showed off their strong performance.
The national soccer team, led by head coach Hong Myung-bo, beat Jordan 2-0 in the third round of the Asian qualifying round for the 2020 North-China World Cup held at Amman International Stadium in Jordan at 11 p.m. on the 10th (Korea time).
Korea, which has had consecutive wins following the match against Oman (3-1), regained the top spot in Group B with seven points (two wins and one draw). Jordan remained in the third place with four points (one win, one draw and one loss).
Korea started with a 4-2-3-1 formation. Joo Min-gyu (Ulsan) took charge of the front line, and Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton), Lee Jae-sung (Mainz), and Lee Kang-in (PSG) took the second line of attack. Hwang In-beom (Feyenoord)-Park Yong-woo (Al Ain) followed, while Lee Myung-jae (Ulsan), Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich), Jo Yu-min (Sharja)-Seol Young-woo (Zvezda) formed the four-back structure. Cho Hyun-woo (Ulsan) defended the goal.
Jordan pulled out a 3-4-2-1 formation. Mohanad Abu Taha – Ali Olwan – Mahmoud Al Mardi, Mohammad Abu Hashish – Nur al-Rawabde – Nizar al-Rashdan – Ehsan Haddad, Husam al-Dahab – Yazan al Arab – Abdallah Nasib and Yazid Abulaila were among the starters.
Coach Hong Myung-bo activated “Plan B” on the day due to the absence of Son’s injury. As expected, Hwang Hee-chan took the place of Son by playing as the left wing. From the beginning, he aggressively tried one-on-one battles with the opponent team’s defense, penetrating the path of attack. Most of the team’s offense took place on the left side.
However, Hwang Hee-chan was replaced by an injury in the 23rd minute of the first half. He complained of pain in the 10th minute when his left ankle was bent by Nasiv’s unreasonable back tackle. He returned with patience once, but was taken off on a stretcher 10 minutes later when Haddad’s tackle put his ankle back on it again. In the end, Hong Myung-bo called Hwang Hee-chan to the bench and put Um Ji-sung in instead.
However, the “Plan C” thumbprint didn’t last long either. He showed off his presence by linearly moving his fast feet, but suddenly collapsed by holding his knee around five minutes in the second half. The second injury occurred only in the left winger’s position. Coach Hong Myung-bo had no choice but to remove the thumbprint and put in Bae Jun-ho.
Despite a series of unfavorable injury conditions in the stadium following Son, Korea was strong. Team Korea led the game by blocking Jordan’s forward pressure and rapid counterattacks. The team overwhelmed Jordan not only in share (75 percent to 25 percent) but also in pass success rate (89 percent to 71 percent).
Korea scored the first goal in the 38th minute of the first half. Vice-captain Lee Jae-sung pushed Seol’s cross to the head to break the net. Seol folded it once from the right side and crossed after beating the defense, and Lee Jae-sung rushed to finish it off. It was a scene where his teamwork shone from the left deployment through Um Ji-sung and Lee Myung-jae to the cross play. 토토사이트
South Korea continued to stably block Jordan’s attack and Oh Hyun-kyu’s additional goal enabled the team to win. He was substituted for Oh in the 23rd minute of the second half, breaking through the left side of the box with a confident step-over and penetrating the corner of the goal with a powerful right foot shot. It was Oh’s A-match debut goal that caught the goalkeeper off guard by being kicked low.
The team repaid its defeat in the semifinals of the 2023 Qatar Asian Cup in February. Korea, led by Jurgen Klinsmann at the time, drew 2-2 with Jordan in the group stage and was eliminated in the semifinals by losing 0-2 without making any shots on goal. This time, however, the team won 2-0 in an away match against Jordan, and succeeded in avenging the loss.
It is a precious victory that signals a green light for their advance to the World Cup. Jordan and Iraq are the toughest teams in Group B. The two Middle Eastern powerhouses are ranked 68th and 55th by FIFA, respectively, ranking second only to Korea (23rd).
In particular, Korea’s away match against Jordan was cited as the biggest obstacle as the aftermath of the Asian Cup nightmare eight months ago remains. Moreover, Son Heung-min, the center of the national team, was under heavy pressure as he suffered from an injury. However, Hong Myung-bo managed to catch Jordan more easily than expected, dispelling concerns.
It is three points that can help Hong Myung-bo who is on shaky ground outside the stadium. Hong has been under fire from the beginning due to controversy over fairness, and recently, he attended a questionnaire to the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee of the National Assembly as a witness and was even asked if he would like to resign. The results of an interim investigation by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said there was a problem in the process of appointing Hong Myung-bo.
Of course, Hong said, “My duty as a coach is to strengthen my team and produce good results at the World Cup,” adding, “I will focus only on the match.” For now, Hong has successfully taken a breather by winning an important victory regardless of controversy over his appointment.
