Hong Myung-bo-ho's uncomfortable 'unbeatable march'...a defensive organizing task

■ Host: Anchor Jeong Jin-hyung and anchor Lee Eun-sol
■ Starring: Kim Youngsoo Kim / Sports Department Reporter

* The text below may differ from the actual broadcast content, so please check the broadcast for more accurate information. Please specify [YTN New Square 8PM] when quoting.

[Anchor]
The national soccer team, led by head coach Hong Myung-bo, finished the A-match schedule this year by drawing with Palestine unfortunately without scoring. Despite the continued unbeaten streak, I was given the task of strengthening my defensive organization to be competitive in the main race. Let's take a look at this year's performance of the national soccer team with Youngsoo Kim reporter from the sports department. Please come in. Let's start with yesterday's game against Palestine, but the fact is that our country will be a little superior in terms of power. There was a lot of public opinion like this, but it was tied. How was the game?

[Reporter]
Our national team has played well recently. However, there were many predictions and analyses that they would win, but in the end, they ended up drawing 1:1 again. He even scored the first goal when our defense error came out at the beginning of the game. Kim Min-jae's pass to Cho Hyun-woo was too short, and the striker intercepted it and scored a goal. Fortunately, the equalizer came out four minutes later. A three-way pass leading to Lee Myung-jae, Lee Jae-sung, and Son Heung-min shook the net. After that, a lot of threatening scenes and cool scenes came out. But it didn't lead to a goal. In the 35th minute of the second half, Son Heung-min shook the net once again, and this was confirmed as offside because of the VAR decision. For us, the Palestinian case also feels like a wall of wailing. It was the only country that drew in the third qualifying round, but it tied again. We ended up recording two draws. For your information, Palestine now has three points in Group B. It means that Korea made two of them.

[Anchor]
Still, Son Heung-min scored an equalizer quickly after losing a point. You also made a meaningful record through this game, right?

[Reporter]
Son Heung-min scored his 51st A-match goal yesterday. He is the lone second-ranked player with the most points in the A-match. That's why he is the only second-ranked player, beating Hwang Sun-hong. The first place is Cha Bum-kun, the former coach. He scored 58 goals. Son Heung-min has seven goals left to reach this record. Son Heung-min's goal yesterday was also his 10th goal this year with the national flag. It is said that Son Heung-min's A-match goal in a year is also the most. And personally, I've been struggling a lot recently because of my injuries. The team's performance was also very poor. So, I think it will be an opportunity to take off again because I have recovered a lot of my sense of play through the two A matches.

[Anchor]
Since he is Son Heung-min, who scores 10 goals a year, I hope there will be more games to catch up with former No. 1 coach Cha Bum-keun, but I heard this game was the last of the World Cup qualifiers.

[Reporter]
That's right. The away match against Palestine was the last A match for the national soccer team. This year, we played six games in the third qualifying round. As you can see, Hong Myung-bo's performance, which had many ups and downs, has four wins, two draws, and no losses. Fortunately, I don't have a card. Iraq came in second with three wins, two draws and one loss. They are outscoring the points by three points. If I won yesterday, I would have been able to strengthen my No. 1 position a little more because I added 3 points instead of 1 point, but that's a little disappointing. Still, as I said earlier, compared to other teams, there is no loss, so it can be seen as an achievement.

[Anchor]
Our representative, who played 6 games, was short, but there were some achievements to pay attention to?

[Reporter]
As you all know, the most important thing is that we have discovered a lot of young blood and young players. I'm sure you've been preparing a lot internally, but it wasn't intended. It was last month. In the Jordan game, which was the third game, Son Heung-min was injured in his team and couldn't come to the call-up at all. Hwang Hee-chan and Um Ji-sung got hurt during the game. The game could have gone grim, but then Bae Joon-ho and Oh Hyun-kyu came in as substitutes and worked as if to watch. In that game, Oh Hyun-kyu also scored his A-match debut goal. From the front line to the second line, young players are giving the national team a very fresh air. Just by looking at the record, you can see the wind. Recently, Oh Se-hoon also has a very good sense of goal. He plays a lot of striker roles. Having such a variety of options in an attack can be a huge burden for the opponent. [Anchor] I think it's actually a difficult task to be unstable in defense. I think it comes out every time. It's a matter of organization and defense.

[Reporter]
That's right. You saw yesterday's loss of the game on the screen and I told you earlier, but it was a defensive error. It wasn't just a lack of organizational power. But even if it wasn't, there were a few moments where my heart was a bit full. They missed the striker in a set piece or easily gave up shooting chances in a counterattack. As you can see, we scored 12 goals in 6 games, but we gave up 5 goals. In six games, there are two games without losing a point. We've lost points in all four games. If you look at the numbers, it's a soccer game, so wouldn't it be a goal and a goal? I think that's possible. That's a problem because you concede goals when you're not supposed to concede goals. In our case, shouldn't we not only play the preliminary round, but also compete in the finals? It seems that a clear organizational power is needed to meet and endure strong European and South American players. Recently, combinations of Cho Yoo-min, Seol Young-woo, and Lee Myung-jae have frequently appeared, centering on Kim Min-jae. It's not completed yet, and it's like a transition period. Even if this combination is completed, it would be better to secure a lot of players who can supplement it. If you prepared a Plan B without Son Heung-min in attack, I think it's time to prepare a Plan B without Kim Min-jae in defense.

[Anchor]
Meanwhile, the head coach Hong Myung-bo, wasn't there actually a lot of controversy since he took office? What's the mood like these days?

[Reporter]
Not only the performance but also the inside of the team. The atmosphere of great agitation, it doesn't seem to be affected. I don't think I'm affected. Rather, it seems to be looking for stability. Lee Kang-in said in an interview after the game yesterday, "The players are following the coach well and I think I can play better football." Even when this controversy was in full swing, players emphasized the answer that they trusted the coach when asked like this. However, something has not been completed administratively yet. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced the final audit results and told them to take it again because the process of appointing the director was wrong. Also, if they don't follow it, they have threatened to take follow-up measures. However, the Korea Football Association refutes the results of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism audit one by one and does not follow them well, so it remains to be seen whether there will be another inflection point between winter.

[Anchor]
is getting closer to the World Cup, and I hope this problem will be resolved quickly. Lastly, please point out next year's schedule.

[Reporter]
As I mentioned earlier, this year's preliminary round is all over. The third qualifying match will begin again in March next year. Oman, Jordan, Iraq, and Kuwait are in order. We've already played a lot of away games. So out of four games, three are played at home. Unfortunately, both games in March are home games. If we play these two games well, I think we can confirm our advance to the finals for the 11th consecutive time early. I hope the national team players will prepare well for the winter and have a good game in March next year.

[Anchor]
I hope we can see a good performance. We took a look at this year's performance of the national soccer team with a sports Youngsoo Kim reporter. Thank you for talking today.