[스포츠조선 박찬준 기자]Seon-Hong Hwang faces Tae-Yong Shin in an irregular lineup.
‘Hwang Seon-hong vs. Shin Tae-yong’. It’s an ironic fate. Two Korean soccer legends met on a single tree bridge on the way to Paris. The Republic of Korea U-23 national soccer team, led by coach Hwang Seon-hong (56), will face Indonesia, led by coach Shin Tae-yong (54), at the Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium in Doha, Qatar, at 2:30 a.m. on the 26th (Korean time) in the 2024 match. The quarterfinals of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-23 Asian Cup will be held in 2018.
Korea defeated their archrival Japan 1-0 in the final match of the group stage and took first place in Group B, completing a special bracket called ‘Stork vs. Fox’. Indonesia lost 0-2 to the ‘host country’ Qatar in the first game, but surprisingly succeeded in advancing to the quarterfinals by finishing second in Group A by completely defeating the formidable teams of Australia and Jordan. This is the first time that Indonesia has reached the quarterfinals of this competition.
The quarterfinals are a critical moment for the team to go to Paris. This competition also serves as the final qualifying round for the Paris Olympics. Up to third place can advance directly to the finals, and fourth place will play an intercontinental playoff against Guinea in Africa. This is a game in which coach Hwang, who is trying to achieve the feat of advancing to the Olympic finals for the 10th consecutive time, the first in the world, and coach Shin, who is trying to give Indonesia a ticket to the Olympics for the first time in 68 years since the 1956 Melbourne Games, cannot back down.
Korea is ahead in terms of objective power. Korea has won 5 games against Indonesia at the U-23 level. In this tournament, Korea is showing off its solid defense by playing practical soccer and not conceding a single goal. Through the rotation in the last Korea-Japan match, the players’ stamina was conserved and the victory lifted the mood.
Indonesia is not easy either. After the new coach system was established, Indonesia absorbed a large number of ‘mixed-race players’ born in the Netherlands and grew by improving the skills of its own players. With mixed-race players such as Rafael Strawick (Den Haag), Ivar Jenner (Utrecht), Nathan Joaon (Heerenveen), and Justin Hubner (Cereso Osaka), they are not defeated in physical battles unlike in the past. Many of them even have experience, such as playing a key role in the A team at the last Qatar Asian Cup. Coupled with this, Coach Shin’s attacking soccer, the team is upgrading to a difficult team.
Director Hwang took out an irregular card. Lee Young-jun (Gimcheon), who is recording 3 goals in 2 games, and ‘foreign player’ Jeong Sang-bin (Minnesota) were both placed on the bench. Instead, Uhm Uhm-seong (Gwangju), Kang Seong-jin (Seoul), and Hong Si-hoo (Incheon) took out the top three. The waist line includes Lee Tae-seok, Baek Sang-hoon (Seoul), Kim Dong-jin (Pohang), and Hwang Jae-won (Daegu). Lee Tae-seok attempts to assist in four consecutive games. The three-back consists of Byun Jun-su (Gwangju), who returned from warnings, and Lee Kang-hee (Gyeongnam) and Jo Hyun-taek (Gimcheon). Baek Jong-beom (Seoul) guards the goal. It is noteworthy that the injured Jaejun Ahn (Bucheon) has returned to Benche.
Coach Shin also introduced the 3-4-3 card. With Strawick at the center, Sulaiman and Ferdinan stand on the left and right. Arhan, Chu-A-On, Jenner, and Fami line up in the waist line. Hubner, Lido, and Tegu form a three-back. Sutariadi puts on goalkeeper gloves.
Coach Hwang said, “Andonesia’s strength is Coach Shin. I will put my personal feelings aside and prepare and play to win unconditionally.” Coach Shin also said, “This is my first experience playing against my country. It’s hard to say, but my heart is strong.” “It is quite difficult to win if we break down Korea’s defense.”
Reporter Park Chan-jun [email protected]
Tags: Shin Taeyongs opponent Hwang Seonhong Lee Youngjun Jeong Sangbin bench irregular lineup Eom Jiseong Kang Seongjin Hong Sihoo top
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