Kim Byung-ji, head of Gangwon FC, predicted the performance of the Korean national soccer team ahead of the 2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup.
“Japan has a 35 percent chance of winning the Asian Cup, Korea has a 30 percent chance, Iran has a 15 percent chance, and Qatar has a 10 percent chance of winning the Asian Cup. The remaining teams account for 10 percent of the Asian Cup. The winner will be from Japan, Korea, Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Australia.”
Kim Byung-ji made headlines in September last year when he predicted a 35 to 40 percent chance of men’s soccer winning a gold medal ahead of the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games. Some said it was a rather cold assessment, but he looked at the possibility of winning again this time.
The Korean national soccer team, led by head coach Jürgen Klinsmann, will begin its journey at the Asian Cup with the first group match against Bahrain on the 15th. South Korea entered the tournament with a will to quench its 64-year-old thirst for victory.
Public expectations are higher than ever. This is because top-notch players such as “captain” Son Heung-min (Tottenham Hotspur), Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton), Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain), and Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich) are on the national team.
However, the Asian Cup is a challenging one. A case in point is that Korea, which claims to be the “Tiger of Asia,” has not won a single championship since 1960. In addition, as the Asian soccer level has been upgraded, rival teams’ capacities cannot be ignored.
Still, CEO Kim Byung-ji said, “There is a strong possibility that Korea and Japan, the two Asian rivals, will face off in the final. If Japan, which actually belongs to Group D, and Korea, which is tied in Group E, advance to the tournament as No. 1 players in the group, the two teams will only meet in the final. The final match between Korea and Japan can become a reality.
CEO Kim Byung-ji said, “In football, there are many cases where you win and lose with one player. In this Asian Cup, I think Korea has a high probability of beating Japan. I see it as 55-45.”
Korea has several “big names,” but Japan has high-quality players in all positions. Kaoru Mitoma (Brighton and Hove Albion) and Takefusa Kubo (Real Sociedad), who are making a name for themselves in the big league, are Japanese stars, but they are generally considered to have a good balance. In fact, 20 of the 26 players on the final roster of the Japanese 헤라카지노주소 national soccer team are European.
CEO Kim Byung-ji said, “It is important whether key players make decisions (to win), but Korea is more destructive than Japan,” adding, “Japan will also have fears about these players (Son Heung-min, Kim Min-jae, etc.).
“Clinsman-ho, who is considered the ‘greatest member of all time’. Kim Byung-ji picked Hwang Hee-chan as the most anticipated player among them. “I think the key is Hwang Hee-chan. Hwang Hee-chan is the player who sighs the most. (When I see Hwang Hee-chan’s play), he says, ‘Wow’ and then ‘I’m so excited,'” he said. “Hwang Hee-chan didn’t finish well, but he’s doing a good job these days. I’m looking forward to it.”
