Cho Yoo-min, who has recently worked with Kim Min-jae as the main center back of the national soccer team, wrapped up Kim Min-jae, who made a major pass miss against Palestine.
The national soccer team, led by head coach Hong Myung-bo, drew 1-1 in Group B 6 of the third Asian qualifying round for the 2026 North-China World Cup against Palestine at Amman International Stadium in Amman, Jordan on the 19th (Korea time).
The national team, which only gained one point, maintained its lead by six points ahead of second-place Jordan and third-place Iraq, with four wins, two draws and 14 points. However, following their face-off in September, they ended up with two consecutive draws with Palestine, leaving a regret.
Iraq won the next match, trailing the national team by three points. Jordan fell to third place with a 1-1 draw with Kuwait, but narrowed the gap with the national team to five points.
Key defender Kim Min-jae’s mistake was painful. The national team was dragged away by allowing the first run due to Kim Min-jae’s pass miss early in the first half. Four minutes later, Son Heung-min scored an equalizer in the 16th minute of the first half, but he failed to score an additional goal and had to settle for a draw.
However, his partner Cho Yoo-min covered Kim Min-jae. “Unexpectedly, we had a tough game as we lost a point in the beginning,” Cho told reporters in the mixed zone after the game. “I think it was not just anyone’s mistake but a mistake from the beginning as a team.”
“It’s unfortunate, but I think the players tied the game right away, and I was positive about trying to make an additional goal afterwards,” he added.
The defensive concentration was disrupted during the game, and he said, “I used a little more players aggressively to create additional goals. That’s why I think it was because I put less power on the defense side.”
The Korean team has continued its winning streak of four wins, two draws, and no loss, but has conceded five goals in six matches. The team has lost points in three consecutive matches.
Kim Min-jae and Cho Yoo-min, who were born in 1996, have been playing center back duo for four consecutive games since the match against Jordan last month. The team’s latest task has been to select Kim Min-jae’s talented partner, but Hong Myung-bo, the team’s coach, is gradually seeking answers.
Coach Hong, who set up Kim Young-kwon in a home match against Palestine in September and Jung Seung-hyun next to Kim Min-jae in an away match in Oman, continues to put the combination of Kim Min-jae and Cho Yoo-min as the center back duo of the back four after winning 2-0 against Jordan.
However, it is pointed out as a problem to keep losing points after the match against Jordan.
In response, Cho said, “It’s too bad. Before today’s game, I personally wanted to score no points between the players and myself. I also talked a lot about how to score no points, but it’s a shame that those things didn’t happen,” adding, “Since we have more games to play, we will try to supplement them and show better performance.”
When asked if there was any improvement in the game so far, Cho Yoo-min said, “I think the part where the players are making better about our game plan than the opponent, how to deal with the game through meetings, how to target the opponent.”메이저놀이터
“In terms of defense, (Kim) Min-jae plays a leader role in defense, so I think we need to work a little more on line control and rear space by talking a lot to Min-jae,” he added. “I personally think I need to step up and be more confident in the game and supplement it so that I can show more of what I can do well.”
He said, “I’m confident that overall performance is improving. Although we didn’t get the results today, it’s very positive that we don’t have much ups and downs in terms of performance, and we’re constantly playing what we want to do.”
South Korea completed all of its eventful 2024 A matches after the Palestinian expedition on the same day.
The team aims to secure a berth to the World Cup finals through the 7th to 10th Asian qualifiers in March and June next year. It will invite Oman and Jordan to its home ground in March, and will host an away match in Iraq in June before staging a grand finale in a home match against Kuwait.
If Korea ranks first or second in Group B, it will advance directly to the 2026 World Cup finals in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico in June 2026. If Korea slips to third or fourth place, it will go to the fourth preliminary round, in which a total of six countries compete for 2.33 sleep, and seek to advance to the finals once again.
In Group B, Iraq ranks second with 11 points after South Korea. Jordan is third with nine points, while Oman is fourth with six points. Kuwait and Palestine are in fifth and sixth place with four points and three points, respectively.
