Korean soccer is challenging for a third consecutive Asian Games gold medal.
The national soccer team, led by coach Hwang Seon-hong, will hunt for the gold medal starting with the first match of Group E against Kuwait on the 19th, four days before the opening of the Hangzhou Asian Games. They will then face Thailand on the 21st and Bahrain on the 24th before entering the round of 16 tournament. The top 12 countries in 1st and 2nd place in 6 groups and the top 4 countries in 3rd place in each group advance to the round of 16.
Korean soccer has won five gold medals in previous Asian Games.
He won gold medals at the 1970 and 1978 Bangkok Games, and also won a gold medal at the 1986 Seoul Games. Although he has not been associated with a gold medal for over 20 years, he won back-to-back gold medals at the 2014 Incheon Games and the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Games. Coach Hwang Seon-hong called up six European players, including Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain), Jung Woo-young (Stuttgart), Hong Hyun-seok (KAA Ghent), Lee Han-beom (Midtjylland), Park Gyu-hyeon (Dinamo Dresden), and Lee Hyun-joo (Behen Wiesbaden
) . Players with national team experience, such as Eom Won-sang (Ulsan Hyundai) and Song Min-gyu (Jeonbuk Hyundai), were also included.
However, the wild card has less weight than the last Jakarta-Palembang competition. At that time, national team players such as Son Heung-min (Tottenham Hotspur), Hwang Ui-jo (Norwich City), and Cho Hyun-woo (Ulsan) played as wild cards, but this time, Park Jin-seop, Baek Seung-ho (Jeonbuk), and Seol Young-woo (Ulsan) played as wild cards. do.
The key player is definitely Lee Kang-in.
Coach Hwang Seon-hong is a key resource for the team that is waiting impatiently. When signing a contract with Paris Saint-Germain, they agreed to be selected for the Asian Games, but they can only join after the start of the Asian Games. Paris Saint-Germain decided to send Lee Kang-in after the UEFA Champions League match with Borussia Dortmund (Germany) on the 20th . It is expected to arrive in China on the 21st. After skipping the games against Kuwait and Thailand, he will be able to play from the third game against Bahrain.
In the Jakarta-Palembang tournament, Son Heung-min joined two days before the first game of the group stage and started playing in the second game of the group stage.
The problem is the chemistry between Lee Kang-in and his existing players. The only time Lee Kang-in played for Hwang Seon-hong was in the Asian Football Confederation ( AFC ) Under-23 ( U-23 ) Asian Cup
held in Uzbekistan in June 2022 . This was possible because the Spanish La Liga season had ended at the time. Lee Kang-in played in three games, and Korea was eliminated after losing 0-3 to Japan in the quarterfinals. Coach Hwang Seon-hong said, “I think we need to watch the Champions League game and judge Lee Kang-in’s physical condition. We need to adjust the timing of his input. We need to calculate at what point he will be in the best condition after joining. Rather than spending quickly, consider that aspect. “(When it comes to positioning), communication with you comes first. We will decide on the position after reviewing various factors, including physical strength,” he said.
Meanwhile, the women’s national team led by coach Colin Bell dreams of its 메이저사이트first ever gold medal.
Women’s soccer will play Group E matches against Myanmar on the 22nd, the Philippines on the 25th, and Hong Kong on the 28th. In the case of women’s soccer, the first place in five groups heads to the quarterfinals, and the top three countries among the second place in the group join the quarterfinals.
Initially, the quarterfinals were an obstacle. It was because of the bracket where the first place in Group D and the first place in Group E met in the quarterfinals. If Korea takes first place in Group E, it will have to face Japan, which is likely to take first place in Group D. Japan is the strongest team in Asia, having advanced to the quarterfinals of the Women’s World Cup.
Coach Bell also said, “If we take first place in the group stage, we will face Japan. I don’t understand. I don’t know why the top ranked teams have to play against each other. It’s complicated.”
However, the bracket announced on the competition website was different from the existing tournament bracket. The 1st place in Group E will face the 2nd place in Group D or the 1st place in Group C. If Korea and Japan both advance to the tournament by taking first place in their group, a match between Korea and Japan will take place in the finals.
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