The Korean national football team, led by coach Paulo Bento, visited the Education City Stadium in Alayan today (21st), three days before the first leg of Group H of the Qatar 2022 World Cup.
Education City Stadium is where Korea will play all three group stage games.
In this tournament, there is no ‘official training’ at the stadium the day before the game, but each team is given the opportunity to tour the stadium grounds and locker rooms.
The visit took place at 11 am local time.
The temperature was around 28 degrees, but with the scorching sun, the perceived temperature was in the high mid 30’s.
However, it was ‘fall weather’ inside the arena.
In order to host the World Cup in the land of martyrs, Qatar not only moved the tournament from summer to autumn, but also built a ‘cooling system’ with air conditioning in eight stadiums.
The shaded area of the stadium field was very cool with temperatures in the early 20s.
Bentoho right back Kim Moon-hwan (Jeonbuk) said, “It seems like the wind from the air conditioner is coming (to the floor). It’s cool.”
Midfielder Baek Seung-ho (Jeonbuk) also said, “I feel cool when I’m still.”
The first leg against Uruguay and the second leg against Ghana kick off at 4pm and the third leg against Portugal at 6pm.
The sun had already set at 4:00 PM, so it seemed unlikely that the Taegeuk warriors would suffer greatly from the heat.
The players gave a thumbs up despite the turf conditions.
Midfielder Hwang In-beom (Olympiacos) said, “The grass is very good. The training ground is a bit hard, but (here) it feels softer than the training ground. It’ It’s a shame I couldn’t train (at the stadium), but I think coming and stepping on it helps.” he said.
Kim Moon-hwan also said, “The grass is so nice and it seems like it’s perfect for playing. It’s like a practice field, but it feels a little softer.”
Baek Seung-ho evaluated, “It might change depending on how the teams playing in front play, but it’s very good as it is now.”
(Photo = Yonhap News)
