"Without Son Heung-min and Hwang Hee-chan," Hong Myung-bo, 8 p.m. against Iraq...Young blood is coming out.

Hong Myung-bo, 8 p.m. against Iraq in the fourth round of the World Cup qualifying round
Team Korea leads Group B with 2 wins and 1 draw...Will the solo system be solidified?
Iraq is also undefeated...1st and 2nd place in Group B
Hong Myung-bo to face Casas, the 'Korean head coach'

[Anchor]
The national soccer team, led by head coach Hong Myung-bo, will play the third qualifying round of the World Cup against 'Middle East powerhouse' Iraq at 8 p.m. tonight.

With Son Heung-min and Hwang Hee-chan out due to injuries, the national team is determined to solidify its "dictatorship" centered on young blood born in the 2000s.

I'm connecting you with a reporter.

Reporter Cho Eun Ji!

The two A matches in October have been called the 'biggest crisis' for the World Cup, so please summarize the points to watch.

[Reporter]
Yes, our national team is currently ranked first in Group B in the third qualifying round of the World Cup with two wins and one draw and seven points.

In the home Palestinian match last month, when Hong Myung-bo made his debut, the national team started with a 0-0 draw amid boos, but has since won away games in Oman and Jordan in succession.

If we win today's game as well, we can solidify our leading solo system and cross the "fifth ridge" of the World Cup.

However, Iraq's power is also not easy, with two wins and one draw and an unbeaten streak like ours, and is in second place in terms of goal difference.

Above all, Jesus Casas, a resourceful man who was on the list of Korean coaches, and coach from Spain, has been leading the team stably for nearly two years.

If we boast a brilliant European striker, Iraq has a strong defense with three scoreless games.Ahead of today's six-point game,

{Window and Shield match', head coach Hong Myung-bo emphasized 'early scoring', so let's hear the announcement.

[Hong Myung-bo / Coach of the national soccer team: I think it's very important at what point we score. It's a game against the team that's closest to us, it's an important game, and Iraq is a strong opponent, so I think we have to bring results in some way.

[Anchor]
The key to victory will be how to penetrate the opponent's dense defense,
Son Heung-min, the core of the
national team, is out, right?

[Reporter]
Son Heung-min, the 'floating captain' who became a focal point in and out of the stadium, was absent from this month's call-up due to injury,
To make matters worse, European players, Hwang Hee-chan and Um Ji-sung were injured one after another in the last Jordan trip.

Unfortunately, they were all left wing seats.

The last time our national team plays without Son Heung-min and Hwang Hee-chan, who are considered strikers' "one-two punches," is a warm-up match against Iceland in November 2022.

In the midst of bad injury, it's the young strikers that can be trusted.

'Golden Left Foot' Lee Kang-in has long established himself as a right built-in striker,
Oh Hyun-kyu, who is the same age as Lee Kang-in in 2001, also filled up his confidence by scoring his A-match debut goal against Jordan.

It was the youngest player born in 2003 and Bae Jun-ho of Stoke City who helped with this goal, and he is looking forward to starting as a left striker today.

If young blood born in the 2000s play an active role, it will have an effect of winning every move, such as diversifying players' solutions and tactics through "goodwill competition" and natural generational change to the World Cup finals.

Today's game will be held at Mir Stadium in Yongin, where the grass is in good condition, and 37,000 seats are sold out early.

It is the second home game since the match against Palestine, which was booed by coach Hong Myung-bo, and we are also interested in what the atmosphere in the stands will be like.

Let's hear the resolution of captain Kim Min-jae.

[Kim Min-jae / Team Korea's defensive/interim captain: Since it's a game against the second place at home, I think we have to bring the game unconditionally, and the atmosphere is made by the players inside, so all the players seem to be trying to make that atmosphere well]

Amid the fairness controversy surrounding the appointment of the head coach, our players are playing every game like a final,
I hope the good atmosphere of the
squad will continue as a result.

I'm Cho Eun Ji of YTN in the sports department.

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video;Joo Hye-min