Hwang Seon-hong’s quest for a third consecutive Asian Games title is in full swing, with ‘Captain’ Baek Seung-ho (Jeonbuk), ‘No. 10 Ace’ Cho Young-wook (Gimcheon), and ‘Speed Race’ Uhm Won-sang (Ulsan) in search of their first win.
Head coach Hwang Sun-hong announced his ‘must-win lineup’ ahead of the Hangzhou Asian Games Men’s Football Group E match at Jinhua Stadium in Jinhua, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China at 8:30 p.m. (ET) on Nov. 19.
In a 4-2-3-1 formation, ‘Cheongdae Legend’ Cho Young-wook will lead the attack, and after scoring 34 goals in 78 matches for the Korean national team at all levels, he said he hopes to bring home the ‘beauty of Yuzhong’. He has set a goal of three goals for the tournament and will be looking to start from the first game. With 13 goals in the K-League 2, he is second in the scoring charts, so he is sure to have sharp toes.
The second line consists of Uhm Won-sang, Go Young-joon (Pohang), Jung Ho-yeon (Gwangju), and Jung Woo-young (Stuttgart). The deployment of Uhm Won-sang and Jung Woo-young, a quick “breakthrough winger” on both flanks, is a plan to actively attack the space behind the Kuwaiti defense. Go Young-joon, an attacking midfielder who is good at penetrating the defense, will play the role of a shadow striker, while Jeong Ho-yeon, the “heart of the Gwangju surge,” will play the role of a box-to-box midfielder who is active in attack and defense. The two midfielders will have to be active and aggressive to control the center of the field.
Wildcard and captain Baek Seung-ho will take center stage as a defensive midfielder in an attacking formation. His role is to distribute the ball to the attackers while protecting the back four. Hwang Sun-hong played the key role in the build-up soccer. Ideally, Baek Seung-ho’s space passes are received by Uhm Won-sang or Jeong Woo-young, who finish them off for a goal.
The back four consisted of Hwang Jae-won (Daegu), Lee Han-beom (Mittwillan), Park Jin-seop (Jeonbuk), and Park Kyu-hyun (Dresden). The addition of wildcard Park Jin-seop, one of the best center backs in the K League, gave the defense a lot of weight. He is expected to work with Lee Han-beom, a long center back who has become a European star. Starting fullback Seol Young-woo (Ulsan) joined Hwang Seon-hong late after playing all two A-Match friendlies in September. He was left out of the starting lineup for the day to recover his fitness. The fullbacks, who have been labeled as the weak link, will have to put their concerns to rest in the first game.
In goal will be Lee Kwang-yeon (Gangwon), who is equipped with animalistic saves. Along with “key man” Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain) and Cho Young-wook (UM), who will join the team on the 21st, Lee was part of South Korea’s runner-up finish at the 2019 U-20 World Cup in Poland. He has been the main goalkeeper for Gangwon this season after a major injury. He will be looking to help South Korea win their third straight title.
Alongside Seol will be Min Sung-joon, Kim Jung-hoon, Choi Jun, Lee Jae-ik, Kim Tae-hyun, Hong Hyun-seok, Song Min-kyu, Park Jae-yong and Ahn Jae-joon on the bench.
South Korea won gold in Incheon 2014 and Jakarta-Palembang 2018. A win here would be an unprecedented third consecutive title in Asian Games history. Head coach Hwang Sun-hong said, “We will definitely win with the determination of a pavu-chim.”
The importance of the first game cannot be emphasized enough. In both the Incheon and Jakarta-Palembang tournaments, the first game set the tone with a cool victory. A comfortable win against Kuwait will help the team get through the second game against Thailand on the 21st and the third game against Bahrain on the 24th. Lee will arrive in Hangzhou on the 21st and will start playing as early as the 24th, but two wins before then will allow him to be utilized in the more important tournaments. Lee Kang-in is a key man for Hwang Sun-hong.카지노
Hwang was expected to use Hong Hyun-seok (Hent), whose style is most similar to Lee’s, against Kuwait. “There’s no pressure (to replace Lee),” said Hong, who also expressed confidence. But for now, he focused on speed. Depending on the game situation, there is a possibility of using Hong as a “game-changer” in the second half.
The Hangzhou Asian Games will feature 16 teams in the round of 16, including the top two teams from each of the six pools and the four best performers from the top three. After Afghanistan and Syria withdrew, 21 teams will compete. Only five teams will be eliminated from the group stage. North Korea, returning to the international stage after a five-year absence, showed their mettle in a 2-0 win over Chinese Taipei in their Group F opener on Sept. 19. Now it’s Hwang Sun-hong’s turn to show. With Thailand-Bahrain ending in a 1-1 draw earlier in the day, a win would put them in sole possession of first place.