Will Hong Myung-bo be able to turn Oman, which gave Korean soccer a “shock” 20 years ago, into the “land of the first win”.
The South Korean national soccer team, led by head coach Hong Myung-bo, will play the second Group B match against Oman in the third Asian qualifying round for the 2026 North-China World Cup at 11 p.m. on the 10th (Korea Standard Time) at Sultan Qaboos Stadium in Muscat, Oman.
Hong Myung-bo shocked fans with a 0-0 home draw with Palestine, which is classified as a weak player, in the first game, which was also his first game in the league, so he must sound the victory in the away match in Oman.
Oman ranks 76th in the FIFA rankings, 53 spots below South Korea (23rd).
However, he has a formidable power, losing 0-1 in the first away match against Iraq, which is expected to compete with South Korea and Jordan for the second place in Group B.
Attacks with both speed and footwork, such as Mohammed Algafri on the front line, Isam Al-Sabri on the right and Abdulrahman Almushaifri on the left, are considered threatening.
Most of the players play in the Oman League, so they have good organizational skills.
The recent trend is on the rise, with coach Jaroslav Silhavi, who led the Czech Republic to the quarterfinals of the 2020 European Championship (Euro 2020), winning three wins, one draw and one loss after taking the helm of Oman in February.
However, it is a good thing for South Korea that midfielder Arshad Al-Alaoui, who is considered the “nuclear of the center,” was sent off due to accumulated warnings against Iraq and cannot play in the second game.
Oman also suffered a humiliating loss to Korean soccer.
In October 2003, Korea lost 1-3 away match against Oman in the final qualifying round for the 2004 Asian Cup in China. The match was recorded in Korean soccer history under the name of “Pride Shock.”
Twenty-one years ago, the current trend of the national team is strangely similar.
At that time, the rather strong expression of “shock” was not just due to the loss of one game against Oman.
Oman is recognized as a team that can catch the pressure of an Asian strong team at any time, past or present.
At the time, Korea was not in a good mood, as it suffered a shock loss of 0-1 in an away match against Oman. It was the first loss to Vietnam in 44 years.
Hong Myung-bo also meets Oman after producing a shocking result against the underdog.
The other thing is that the current national team seems more in need than the national team at the time, which was optimistic about going to the Asian Cup finals.
If South Korean soccer does not win again this time, it will turn on a “red light” for its 11th consecutive World Cup finals.
Public opinion on the dismissal of Hong, who was appointed amid controversy, could spread further.
Unlike the match against Palestine, which maintained most of the existing starters, Hong is expected to make some “change” in the lineup.
Changes are expected from the front line positions.
In the match against Palestine, Joo Min-kyu (Ulsan) started, but this time, Oh Se-hoon (Machida) is likely to take the lead as the starter.
Oh Se-hoon helped the South Korean offense boost its vitality in the second half of the Palestinian match with a wider range of activities and shrewd movements than Joo Min-gyu.
In addition, another center back is expected to be Kim Min-jae’s partner instead of veteran Kim Young-kwon (Ulsan), who made several mistakes in the match against Palestine.
Candidates to replace Kim Young-kwon include Jung Seung-hyun (Alwaseul), who is good at fighting, Cho Yoo-min (Sharja), who is strong in intelligent defense, and Lee Han-beom (Mit Willan), a rising star in Europe.
Oman remains a “painful memory” in Korean soccer, but not as much as coach Hong.
Hong, who retired after the 2002 World Cup Korea-Japan, has never experienced the Oman shock in person.
Director Hong left only “good memories” in Oryeo Oman.
For Hong, Oman is the first chapter of the London bronze medal myth.
Coach Hong wrote the history of advancing to the Olympic finals for the seventh consecutive time in February 2012 at the Alsiv Stadium, which he is using as a training ground during this away game.
At that time, he led the U-23 national team to defeat Oman 3-0 in the fifth round of the final Asian qualifying round for the London Olympics football, confirming his trip to London early and receiving “Heng Garae” from the players. 메이저놀이터
That summer, the Olympic team wrote a “bronze medal myth” in London.
Attention is focusing on whether Hong will be able to lead another cool victory in Oman.
Coach Hong met with reporters before his first training session after entering Oman on the 7th and laughed, saying, “It’s not that bad to come back to where I had good memories before.”