Signature Officer. The road to becoming the first 10th Korean Football Association finalist in the world is a very difficult one. A series of bad news is holding Hwang Seon-Hong-ho back.
The Korean under-23 football team, led by coach Hwang Seon-hong, will play against Japan in the group stage of the 2024 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-23 Asian Cup at the Jassim bin Hamad Stadium in Al Rayyan, Qatar , at 10 pm (Korea time) on the 22nd.
Although they have already confirmed their progress to the quarter-finals, they must finish first in their group for the remainder of the schedule. If they progress to the quarter-finals by finishing second in Group B, they will meet Qatar, who have confirmed first place in Group A, and if they progress to first place in Group B, they will face the runners-up in Group A.
Qatar, who are in first place in Group A, are a difficult team in terms of power and have home advantage. In particular, as they won 2-0 against Indonesia in the first match of the group stage amid controversy over the decision, they are expected to be a demanding opponent when they meet in the quarter-finals.
Currently, Korea has 6 points with 2 consecutive wins in the group stage, along with Japan. The 3rd last match against Japan is actually a match to determine 1st and 2nd place in the group.
However, Hwang Seon-hong faced bad news before the Japan game. Defender Seo Seong-gwan (Bucheon) will not be able to play in the remaining games of the tournament due to injury.
An official from the Korea Football Association said, “Seo Myung-gwan was diagnosed with a torn hamstring (the muscle behind the thigh) for about 8 weeks,” and added, “He will not be able to play the rest of the tournament schedule. .” He added, “A decision has not yet been made on whether to return home early.”
Seo Myung-kwan started as a starter in the second Group B match against China on the 19th, but collapsed due to a hamstring injury in the 4th minute of the second half and was replaced by Lee Tae-seok (Seoul). The departure of starting center Myung-gwan Seo, who started in the first and second games, put the defense line in a crisis situation.
Junsu Byun. Korea Football Association: Captain Byun Jun-su (Gwangju), who worked with Seo Myung-kwan, cannot play against Japan due to accumulated warnings. Hwang Seon-hong will have to face Japan without his two starting centre-backs.
Even if Byun Jun-su returns to the quarterfinals, it is not easy to resolve concerns about the composition of the defense. A new central defensive line must be established with Lee Jae-won (Cheonan), who did not play in the first and second matches, or full-back Cho Hyun-taek (Gimcheon).
Although Hwang Seon-hong won the first and second matches without conceding a goal, he showed problems with his defensive uncertainty on several occasions. In particular, in the second match against China, a series of missed passes led to a crisis. Although goalkeeper Kim Jeong-hoon (Jeonbuk) made some excellent saves, both starting centre-backs left before the match against Japan, further increasing the concern for the defence.
The good news is that Japan’s main defender is also unable to participate in the match between Korea and Japan due to a red card. Ryuya Nishio (Cerezo Osaka) was sent off for rough handling in the first match against China and was suspended for a total of three matches until the quarter-finals. According to AFC regulations, a player sent off for rough fouling will be suspended for at least two games.
This is Hwang Seon-hong, who was facing bad news even before the tournament. Three overseas players, including Bae Jun-ho (Stoke City), Yang Hyun-jun (Celtic), and Kim Ji-su (Brentford), were unable to join due to their team’s circumstances. This tournament is not hosted by FIFA, so players cannot be selected unless their team gives permission.
During the contest, a variable occurred that caused the defense to collapse. It remains to be seen how Hwang Sun-Hong will overcome this difficulty as he faces the crucial Korea-Japan match with first place in the group and pride at stake.
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