Tonight's match against Jordan, 'Hong Myung-bo without Son Heung-min'..."Asian Cup Nightmare. Should I avenge it?"

■ Proceedings: Anchor Jung Ji-woong
■ Telephone connection: Lee Jong-hoon, sports critic

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

[Anchor]
Ask a professional about a hot issue. It's an issue call. Tonight at 11 p.m., the away games of Group B and the third round of the Asian qualifying round for the North-China World Cup will be held against Jordan. Son Heung-min's performance. Many people must be looking forward to it, but the thigh injury has hampered him and unfortunately, he will not be able to play in the game. Plan B is expected to be operated, with Kim Min-jae wearing the captain's armband instead of Son Heung-min, the next-generation ace Lee Kang-in and vice-captain Lee Jae-sung filling the vacancy.

Jordan is considered the most difficult opponent in this World Cup qualifying round. Do you remember the semifinals of the Asian Cup last February? Korea was the first to lose to Jordan and was eliminated. At that time, there was a strong wave in Korean soccer, with the main players' anger clearly revealed and Klinsmann was replaced after the game. Considering the last defeat, Hong also expressed confidence in today's game, saying, "Jordan players will be confident, but our players will play well." Can Hong Myung-bo without Son Heung-min fade the controversy over the appointment of the coach with a victory over Jordan tonight? Let's connect sports critic Lee Jong-hoon to look at today's game prospects. The critic is here, right?

[Jonghun Lee]
Hello,

[Anchor]
How are you? Son Heung-min has been ruled out due to injury. There is a great concern that the core power has been removed. I think the names of the players who will fill this spot are mentioned little by little.

[Jonghun Lee]
That's right. Son Heung-min is out due to a hamstring injury. You all know.Ma is a player who has played a role as a troubleshooter for our national team since the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Therefore, in order for another player to fill Son Heung-min's vacancy, he has to play the role of striker and troubleshooter that Son Heung-min has played in the past, but this is not easy. Therefore, I think Lee Kang-in will be the first player to match this in our national team.

Therefore, in today's game, Lee Kang-in should play a role in releasing our offense when it is blocked, as Son Heung-min has done over the past decade, and a troubleshooter who finishes it himself if necessary. Just as Son Heung-min led the team to victory with his natural finishing ability in the last match against Oman, I hope Lee Kang-in will play that role and lead the team to victory today.

[Anchor]
In addition, isn't the performance of overseas players really good recently? Can this atmosphere lead to a national war?

[Jonghun Lee]
In the case of the 2nd-tier resources, which can be said to be empty of Son Heung-min, we can say that we are rich in 2nd-tier resources, including Lee Kang-in, overseas players such as Hwang Hee-chan, Lee Jae-sung, Bae Jun-sung, and Hong Hyun-huck. However, in the case of Bae Joon-ho, Um Ji-sung and Hong Hyun-jun, they have shown good performances in their teams recently. They still lack experience in the national team and have not proven their skills in the A-match, so will these players be able to fill Son Heung-min's vacancy?

In addition, it has not been verified yet whether the national team can fully fulfill its team's role overseas. I will say this, and Lee Jae-sung has shown good performance for Mainz in his team.Ma can be seen as a player who has a strength in the role of unraveling the clues of attack from the side or center, or breaking the opponent's defense, rather than a solver style.

Therefore, the most obvious alternative to our national team right now is Hwang Hee-chan, who has scoring ability, I can tell you this, but Hwang Hee-chan has not scored a goal recently in his team, Wolverhampton. After coming to the national team, he has been showing good performance by starting in the last match against Oman and scoring the first goal.

[Anchor]
It's ahead of all time, but not long ago, I don't want to mention a lot, but we lost to Jordan in the semifinals of the Asian Cup. If the same result comes out, of course, it's not going to work. What parts have changed from then?

[Jonghun Lee]
The most recent showdown with Jordan, right after that, had a nightmare. There was an incident called the ping pong gate, the ping pong court gate, and at that time, coach Klinsmann talked about and mentioned the ping pong court gate.Ma said there was a rift between the team players. But not now. And in the case of Lee Kang-in, he is not Lee Kang-in at that time. From the point of view of the Korean national team and from the point of view of Lee Kang-in, there was a great opportunity to avenge the pain in the match against Jordan, which humiliated him. I hope Lee Kang-in shows a really amazing attack today and gives Jordanian players, who are now confident, a soccer field gate.

[Anchor]
It's not Lee Kang-in at the time. We'll be rooting for you. Jordan is on the rise recently, finishing second at the Asian Cup. What do you expect from today's game?

[Jonghun Lee]
I'd like to expect our 2:0 victory. The decisive reason why we struggled and lost when we faced Jordan in the last Asian Cup was the poor performance of defensive midfield player Park Yong-woo. However, looking back on the situation, Park Yong-woo was not the only one who was at fault. Because Park Yong-woo was often isolated from the defense line, it was a situation where Park Yong-woo's contraction made another mistake that served as an excuse for losing a point.

From that point of view, Park Yong-woo is likely to start today because he is the most advanced in the defensive midfielder competition, and how coach Hong Myung-bo will help Park Yong-woo, a defensive midfield player, not to be isolated in the third line, and what tactics he will come up with, which is the most important key point, and Hong must have known and analyzed this part well. Therefore, I personally don't think we'll repeat the same mistakes today as we did at the last Asian Cup.

Also, if Park Yong-woo is not available here, Baek Seung-woo could emerge as a strong alternative. Baek Seung Woo is in the third division in Birmingham.Ma is performing very well and is playing well that he is not at the third level locally. In that respect, Baek Seung-woo also has mid-range shooting capabilities, so I'm hoping that Baek Seung-ho will be able to play the role of a Joker in our defense and offense today, so I'd like to predict our win 2:0 as the opposite of the last Jordan match.

[Anchor]
Yesterday, a sudden question came up about director Hong Myung-bo in a Jordanian media interview. "I heard Korean soccer is corrupt. There was a reporter's question, but it seems to be aimed at the controversy over the appointment of the director, but isn't it quite a difficult situation right now? What will happen to Coach Hong Myung-bo if he loses?

[Jonghun Lee]
Former player Lee Chun-soo also said that. If we lose to Jordan today and we meet at home, Iraq is the strongest opponent in Group B. If the Iraq war does not produce good results, it seems to be a question aimed at controversy. It's not a good situation, so what happens to Hong Myung-bo if he loses? If you win today, coach Hong Myung-bo's position as the group's No. 1 player could be rapidly shaken. Jordanian media's unexpected question to coach Hong Myung-bo yesterday, that is, that Korean soccer is corrupt, also intends to shake up our national team. That's what I thought, but director Hong Myung-bo answered well.

And it can be said that you dealt with it well. However, because it is the position of the soccer coach that has to speak as a result, if you say that your performance is bad because it is the position of the national team coach, didn't you also say it yourself in the National Assembly? If his performance is bad, he should step down as coach of the national team. It should be replaced. I said, "I'll take responsibility". I don't want to imagine it.Ma said, "If we get the worst result of losing to Jordan and Iraq in a row, we can even consider the voluntary resignation of head coach Hong Myung-bo."

[Anchor]
If you win today, you have a high chance of winning the group. Tickets for the finals have increased since the North Korea-China World Cup, making it easier to advance to the finals. Still, is there a reason why you insist on being at the top of the group?

[Jonghun Lee]
Because there's the third qualifying round and the fourth qualifying round, starting from this tournament. With more tickets to the World Cup finals. However, in the third qualifying round, the first and second place in the group will go straight to the finals. However, if you are third or fourth, you have to go to the fourth round of qualifying. From that point of view, from our point of view, it is better to prepare for the World Cup finals by confirming our advance to the North Korea-China World Cup finals early, and we can see that Korean soccer is losing its status in Asia.

In that respect, we need to confirm our advance to the finals early and impress once again our leadership in Asia. Only then will they lose their fear of Korean soccer like Jordan, lose their fear, and do not show that attitude of recklessly attacking them like this. In this respect, I hope that we will win the first place in the group in the third qualifying round and go straight to the finals.

[Anchor]
Tonight at 11 p.m., we desperately need a victory for Korea and coach Hong Myung-bo. I think it would be good to cheer for our players. We looked into the Jordan match with sports critic Lee Jong-hoon. Thank you.