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[스포츠서울 | 김용일기자] Song instead of SON. ‘K League Ronaldo’ Song Min-gyu (23, Jeonbuk Hyundai)’s shoulders became heavy. Will he erase the vacancy of the captain and play the role of the savior of the national soccer team ‘Bentuho’?
In the first match of the new year in 2022, which is the ‘Year of the Tiger’, Bentu, who performed a ‘five-goal fire show’ against Iceland, unexpectedly encountered a reef. This is because captain Son Heung-min (Tottenham Hotspur), who recently left his team due to a leg muscle injury, is recovering more slowly than expected, making it difficult to participate in Group A’s 7th-8th match between Lebanon on the 27th and Syria on the 1st of next month.
Bentuho, with 14 points in the final qualifying round, is in second place in Group A, which is a direct ticket to the World Cup finals. The difference is 8 points with the third-placed United Arab Emirates (UAE, 6 points). With four matches remaining, Korea can win Game 7 and the UAE can achieve early qualification if they score below a draw. This will allow you to prepare for the Qatar World Cup finals scheduled for this November with more leisure.
In this situation, coach Paulo Bento is very worried because Son Heung-min and Hwang Hee-chan, who are the core power sources of the lateral build-up that he is aiming for, collapsed with injuries at the same time. The two have been put on hold for the ‘European Taegeuk Warriors’ who will join the final qualifier. In reality, participation is difficult. In particular, the vacancy of Son Heung-min, the captain and spiritual supporter, is burdensome considering various variables. We need someone who can erase his void as much as possible.
1st place is Song Min-gyu. A former Olympic representative, he wore the Taegeuk mark for the first time in his career ahead of the Asian second qualifying round for the World Cup in June last year. Although he has little experience with the A team, he was selected as ‘Heung-Min Son’s backup agent’ as his unique talent was recognized by coach Bento. In some games, one side of the European wing was removed and Heung-Min Son and Min-Kyu Song were promoted as ‘left and right wings’. It is the only resource in the K-League that is classified as a starting point by coach Bento in the attacking area.
The value of Song Mingyu’s existence is also highlighted in the Turkish field training and evaluation match (Iceland and Moldova), which is being held as a domestic player before the two consecutive rounds of the final qualifying rounds. Coach Bento gave Son Heung-min’s jersey number 7 to Song Min-gyu. And he proved his worth by scrambled to the left wing forward in Son’s position in the match against Iceland on the 15th (Korean time). He led a European defender with good physical strength and helped Baek Seung-ho’s third goal in the first half.
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The greatest strength is that he is good at breaking through one-on-one and has excellent linkage skills. He also has good scoring ability. In particular, he is a striker with a high header scoring rate due to his excellent positioning. That’s why they call him the Korean version of Ronaldo. Heung-min Son, who calls himself a ‘role model’ and ate a bowl of rice in the national team, understood his position and improved his ability to play. Both can play both flanks and central strikers.
Song Mingyu will start his second evaluation match against Moldova (#181 in FIFA ranking) to be held at Mardan Stadium in Antalya, Turkey at 8 pm on the 21st. If he demonstrates his skills again this time, he can completely capture the heart of coach Bento who is struggling with ‘Son Heung-min’s injury out’. In particular, Bento has a picture of using Heung-Min Son in various ways in the whole area before the World Cup finals. If Song Min-gyu definitely grows into a ‘trustworthy man’ on the left side of the national team, the World Cup competitiveness of ‘Bentuho’ is expected to improve.
kyi0486@sportsseoul.com
