“I felt a lot that I could play an aggressive defense and attack more aggressively if I played smarter and tactically rather than just blindly playing hard and showing fighting spirit.”
It was a word from Hwang Hee-chan (26, Wolverhampton), who can feel that Korean soccer has advanced a step through the Qatar World Cup. On the 6th (Korean time), it was a broadcast interview right after the World Cup journey ended with a 1-4 defeat in the Qatar World Cup round of 16 against Brazil. Although he shed tears due to the bitter defeat, after trying to control his emotions, he explained the change in Korean football under the coaching system of Paulo Bento (53, Portugal).
Hwang Hee-chan’s explanation was also the biggest achievement Korea achieved through the World Cup in Qatar. If Korea’s only weapon was to run more than its opponents and fight with fighting spirit and fighting spirit, this World Cup showed that it can tactically compete with world-class teams on an equal footing. The performance shown in the group stage impressed the fans in line with the dramatic result of heading to the round of 16 for the first time in 12 years.
The competitiveness shown in this World Cup, in particular, combined with the ‘potential’ shown by young players, led to hope for the future. ‘Monster defender’ Kim Min-jae (26, Naples), who started his first World Cup, showed competitiveness on the World Cup stage, and midfielder Hwang In-beom (26, Olympiacos) also established himself as the core of the midfield. Hwang Hee-chan also solved the regret of the two games he missed due to an injury in the early stages through the Portugal and Brazil matches. Born in 1996, they will be 30 years old at the World Cup 4 years later, literally at the ‘top of the line’.
Lee Kang-in (21, Mallorca), who showed off his talent to the fullest in this World Cup, is only 25 years old after four years. Although he is young, he may be 메이저놀이터 the age to show his best skills as he had an early professional life in Europe. Kyu-Sung Cho (24, Jeonbuk Hyundai), who has emerged as the ‘best star’ and is about to advance to Europe, Woo-Young Jung (23, Freiburg) and Seung-Ho Baek (25, Jeonbuk) are players who are expected to grow to what extent they will grow in the next four years.
In addition, ‘ace’ Son Heung-min (30, Tottenham), who directly opened the possibility of participating in the World Cup four years later, Kim Young-kwon (32, Ulsan Hyundai) and Lee Jae-seong (30, Mainz 05) are also mental supporters who can head for the World Cup four years later. are resources ESPN predicted the World Cup in North Korea, China, and China based on this World Cup, and the key factors that gave Korea a ‘B+’ were also the potential of talent confirmed through this World Cup and the existence of veterans such as Son Heung-min.
Naturally, the eyes of fans and the football world are already focused on who will be Bento’s successor. It was confirmed that coach Bento would put down the lead of the national team due to a breakdown in contract renewal negotiations. Now, it has become important for Bento to have a ‘competent’ command tower who can properly utilize the so-called ‘previous power’ to be built four years later and continue the competitiveness of Korean football, which was proven through the Qatar World Cup.
In this process, the reason why some media reports continued, such as the rumor of a Korean leader with an annual salary of less than 1 billion, which the Korea Football Association defined as ‘reckless speculative reporting’, and the reason why fans were agitated in this regard, is that the association has been unsure in the process of appointing a new coach. It had nothing to do with not being able to instill faith. The 2002 Korea-Japan Tournament Shinhwa and the 2010 South Africa Tournament Tournament’s first round of 16 momentum were not carried over to the next tournament in the same context.
The association said, “According to the rules and procedures, the National Team Power Reinforcement Committee will be in charge of appointing the coach. With all possibilities open, we will start by establishing the direction our national team will go in the future.” Will the achievements of the World Cup in Qatar lead to new development, or will it lead to ‘regression’ again, as it did before? The North and Central America World Cup four years later, and the future of Korean soccer, depended on what direction the association would take and what level of manager it would select.