Hong Myung-bo, today's clash with Jordan..."You have to win to see North Korea, China, and the U.S."
Hong Myung-bo, today's clash with Jordan..."You have to win to see North Korea, China, and the U.S."
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Hong Myung-bo's national soccer team will clash with Jordan, which will be the biggest watershed in advancing to the World Cup finals for the 11th consecutive time.
The South Korean national soccer team, led by head coach Hong Myung-bo, will play at Suwon World Cup Stadium at 8 p.m. on the 25th against Jordan in Group B of the third Asian qualifying round for the 2026 FIFA North-China World Cup.
South Korea, ranked 23rd in the FIFA rankings, is leading Group B with four wins and three draws (15 points).
However, in the home game of Game 7 against Oman at Goyang Stadium on the 20th, it drew 1-1 with Oman, ranked 80th in the FIFA rankings, and the No. 1 spot was in jeopardy.
If they beat Jordan after capturing Oman, they could have confirmed their advance to the World Cup finals for 11 consecutive times early, but they drew with Oman, chasing second-place Jordan and third-place Iraq (three wins, three draws and one loss, 12 points).
In order to increase the possibility of early confirmation of North Korea, China and the U.S., it must beat Jordan unconditionally.
In the third qualifying round, the first and second place in each group will get a ticket to the World Cup.
The variable is the bad news of the injury that hit Hong Myung-bo.
Leading defender Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich) failed to join the national team due to an Achilles injury, followed by three additional injuries after the match against Oman.
Center back Jung Seung-hyun (Alwasl) was excluded from the list of participants in the match against Oman after injuring his left calf muscle while training to prepare for the match against Oman.
In addition, Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain) and Baek Seung-ho (Birmingham City) suffered left ankle and left hamstring (muscle behind the thigh) injuries in the match against Oman, respectively, and were lifted along with Jung Seung-hyun.
Coach Hong prepared for the match against Jordan without selecting their replacement players.
Fortunately, key midfielder Hwang In-beom (Feyenoord), who was not on the roster for the match against Oman due to the injury suffered by his team, is likely to play in the match against Jordan.
Coach Hong Myung-bo told a news conference on the previous day, "Hwang In-beom is in a better condition than expected. He also has a strong will to play."
The key to victory over Jordan is 'captain' Son Heung-min (Tottenham).
Son Heung-min, who failed to score in four straight A matches against Oman, will aim for zero again against Jordan.
Son Heung-min was unable to play in the away game of Game 3 against Oman on October 10 last year due to the injury.
Although he was disappointed with his heavy movements in the last match against Oman, Son Heung-min has to lead the opponent's defense to open up scoring opportunities for other strikers such as Joo Min-kyu (Daejeon), Lee Jae-sung (Mines) and Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton).
In particular, Son Heung-min, who has served as a troubleshooter whenever the national team has stagnated, is expected to show off his sharp toes again in the match against Jordan.
Coach Hong said, "The national disaster is serious due to the forest fire, so I hope the forest fire will be extinguished as soon as possible. The national team will also win tomorrow to be a little supportive."
"I want to finish the two consecutive A matches well in March. I expect the players to improve in every aspect compared to the match against Oman. Some say that they have improved a lot in physical condition. I will finish the match with good performance tomorrow."
Of course, Jordan, who is ranked 64th in FIFA rankings, is not an easy target. 안전놀이터
South Korea is ahead of the previous showdown with four wins, three draws and one loss, but we must not let our guard down as it gave us a 0-2 shock loss in the semifinals of the 2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup.
Moussa Altamari (Stadren), who missed the first match in October last year, and Yazan Al-Naimat (Al-Araibi), who was not in normal condition, are also expected to take the lead in offense this time.
Central defender Yazan Al Arab (registered name Yazan) who plays for K League 1 FC Seoul is also on alert.