"Hong Myung-bo turned out to be the 'Group of Death'." Palestine, who repaid the favor, won the '0-1→2-1' theater over Iraq...South Korea, North and Central America are 'only one point'
"Hong Myung-bo turned out to be the 'Group of Death'." Palestine, who repaid the favor, won the '0-1→2-1' theater over Iraq...South Korea, North and Central America are 'only one point'
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When I opened the lid, Group B, which includes the South Korean national soccer team A, was the "Group of Death."
After completing the eighth round of the third Asian qualifying round for the 2026 North-China World Cup, the lead and fourth place in Group B have only six points and two match differences. Compared with the gap between the first and fourth places with 11 and 10 points, respectively, in Group C and Group A, four teams are close together. Group B is the only team that failed to produce an early advance team for the World Cup until March. Japan (20 points) got tickets for the seventh round and Iran (20 points) for the eighth round.
Hong Myung-bo's plan was to advance early in March, but the steps were twisted as they drew 1-1 against Oman (20th, Goyang) and Jordan (25th, Suwon) in two consecutive A-match home games in March. In the match against Jordan on the 25th, Lee Jae-sung's early first goal took the lead in the fifth minute of the first half, but after giving up the equalizer to Mahmoud al-Mardi in the 30th minute of the first half, he was criticized for his poor performance. Coach Hong said, "I didn't accurately grasp the slump, which had only three consecutive matches, especially one win (three draws) in four home games, but I think there is something that the players feel a lot of pressure and can't concentrate on." Captain Son Heung-min reiterated the need to improve the home game environment.
The "home 2 smoke" was highly likely to be a "fatal blow" to Korean soccer, which is seeking to advance to the World Cup finals for 11 consecutive times. If Iraq, which plays an away match for Palestine after confirming the results of the Korea-Jordan match, wins three points, Korea (16 points), Iraq (15 points) and Jordan (13 points) could be tied within three points. This would have put more pressure on the away match in Iraq in June.
In the match between Palestine and Iraq, which Iraq watched with unease, a miraculous event took place. At the match held in Amman, Jordan, Iraq was ahead 1-0 in the first half with Ayman Hussein's first goal at the 34th minute. However, when the victory was imminent, the team conceded an equalizer to Abu Ali at the 43rd minute in the second half, and the team lost 1-2 to Amid Mahazna by dedicating the come-from-behind goal through a header to the team at the 7th minute in extra time. The Palestinian team, which was at the bottom with six points, jumped to the 5th place, leaving a chance to advance to the 4th preliminary round (ranking third to fourth in the group), and left a big gift for Korea.
Some soccer fans agreed that Palestine has returned the favor to South Korea. In September last year, the Korean team tied the match 0-0 with the Palestinians at a home match after a rough match. The team also tied the match 1-1 with the Palestinians at an away match in November of the same year. The Palestinians are the only team that Hong Myung-bo failed to win in the third qualifying round. Out of the six points that the Palestinians have won in eight matches, they acquired two points, or about 33.3 percent, against the Korean team. Without those two points, the hope for the World Cup would have disappeared.
Korea is now able to prepare for the A-match in June with more leeway. It will be able to win the ticket to the World Cup finals if it draws an away match in Iraq on June 5. With one more game to go, it will maintain a four-point gap with third-place Iraq to secure at least the second place. Even if it loses to Iraq, it will be given another chance. As Jordan and Iraq will clash in the final match of their 10th match, they will be able to advance to the World Cup if they earn just one point in their home match against Kuwait on June 10. 안전놀이터
The problem is "competitiveness in the main line." Team Hong Myung-bo has lost points in the last five consecutive games, and its performance is continuously deteriorating. In this two consecutive games, Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich) was eliminated due to injury, and Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain) and Baek Seung-ho (Birmingham City) were injured while playing. Captain Son Heung-min said, "I'm not a coach, but there will be players who experience it in Europe, and I think they can definitely grow if they play more games. Same here. I'm still learning every moment and every day. I think it would be nice to show them how I have improved in the World Cup."