Largest score difference after a 4-1 win over Scotland in 2002
Kim Jin-gyu’s A Match Debut Stage Goal Taste… Second evaluation match against Moldova on the 21st
The Korean national football team, led by coach Paulo Bento, has found a ‘Plan B’ that can greatly enhance the operational competitiveness of ‘Plan A’.
Korea, who is undergoing field training in Antalya, Turkey, defeated Iceland 5-1 in the evaluation match of the first match of the new year (international team match) held at Mardan Stadium on the 15th. With only a domestic K leaguer, they dominated the game with a 71% share (Iceland 29%) against the 62nd ranked European team in FIFA. All five goals were organic passes. If it had been for the missed penalty kick and the shot that hit the goal post, it would have been the greatest win ever. Today’s victory is the largest difference in points in an A match against a European country. It broke the record for the first time in 20 years after winning (4-1) with Ahn Jung-hwan’s two goals in an evaluation match against Scotland on May 16, 2002.
The players who were hired on behalf of Heung-Min Son (Tottenham), Ui-Jo Hwang (Bordeaux), Hee-Chan Hwang (Wolverhampton), In-Beom Hwang (Rubin Kazan), and Woo-Young Jung (Al Sadd) of the ‘Double Volanchi’ saw the goal with active play. Goals from Jo Gyu-seong (Gimcheon, first half 15 minutes), Baek Seung-ho (Jeonbuk, first half 29 minutes), Kim Jin-kyu (Busan, second half 28 minutes), and Umji-seong (Gwangju, second half 41 minutes) scored the first goals in match A.
As a backup striker for Hwang Ui-jo, Jo Kyu-seong received the attention of coach Bento through the match against Iceland. As the midfielders spin the ball and find space for forward passes, they move to the side and behind the defense to release the offensive flow. In the 15th minute of the first half, Kim Jin-gyu entered the defense behind the timing and scored his first goal in five matches. With Jo Gyu-seong’s movement, Song Min-kyu (Jeonbuk) and Lee Dong-kyung (Ulsan) on the left and right have a space to try their attack options from the center. Jo Gyu-seong said, “The play today is 80 points.” He said, “As the coach ordered the tactic, I was able to score goals easily because I was tired of the opponent while possessing the ball in midfield or defense.”
Baek Seung-ho and Kim Jin-gyu, who took the place of Jung Woo-young and Hwang In-beom, also performed the role of ‘controller’ of the air force without unreasonableness. Baek Seung-ho diligently approached the back-back defenders and exchanged passes to relieve the opponent’s primary pressure. The strong Icelanders put a lot of pressure in the beginning, but they didn’t lose the ball. Kim Jin-gyu stood out in a position ahead of Baek Seung-ho with a short one-two-touch pass that checked the positions of the strikers in advance and connected them. With the movement of the two, Iceland’s pressure defense formation collapsed early. Baek Seung-ho was a mid-range prisoner in the first half, and Kim Jin-gyu also created an opportunity with a sharp 2-1 pass in the second half and finished with a goal in the middle of the second half, leaving a strong impression.
Coach Bento expressed his satisfaction by saying, “They responded well to the week’s training.” Korea will have their second evaluation match against Moldova on the 21st and will play the World Cup final qualifiers on the 27th (Lebanon) and February 1 (Syria). Since the new year, many ‘trustworthy men’ who read the board he had prepared and performed their duties came out, and Bento fell into a happy worry.
By Yoo Jae-young, staff reporter elegant@donga.com
