South Korea will try to find holes in the defense of an attack-minded Palestine team in their upcoming World Cup qualifier, head coach Hong Myung-bo said Wednesday.

South Korea will host Palestine at 8 p.m. Thursday at Seoul World Cup Stadium to kick off Group B action in the third round of the Asian qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

South Korea are the highest-ranked team in Group B at No. 23, while Palestine check in at No. 96. But Hong said Palestine are a better team than their ranking position may suggest.

“Their forwards can be quite dangerous, and I think they are far more organized as a team than people think,” Hong said at his prematch press conference at Seoul World Cup Stadium. “But if they are going to play an aggressive brand of football, it could expose some holes in their defense. I think our players have the experience and abilities to exploit those and create scoring opportunities.”

Hong Myung-bo, head coach of the South Korean men’s national football team, speaks at a press con
ference at Seoul World Cup Stadium in Seoul on Sept. 4, 2024, the eve of the team’s World Cup qualifier against Palestine. (Yonhap)

This will be the first match for Hong in his second tour of duty with the national team. He first coached the Taegeuk Warriors from 2013 to 2014, and resigned after failing to get his team past the group stage at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

He was brought back in some controversial circumstances in July. The Korea Football Association (KFA) hired Hong after spending weeks interviewing foreign-born candidates, and Hong, who had publicly rejected the KFA’s overtures earlier in the year, accepted the offer on a dime. Critics of the move claimed that the KFA ignored its own vetting process to pick Hong, and even the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism launched a probe into operations at the KFA.

Hong has been an unpopular choice from Day 1, and it will take some convincing victories early in his tenure to at least assuage the disgruntled fan base.

“I think people have high
expectations for our first match of this round, and we will obviously try to score as many goals as we can,” Hong said. “But basically, our focus is on winning the match. It’s always important to win the first match.”

Throughout his legendary playing career and up-and-down coaching career, Hong has built a reputation as a charismatic, no-nonsense leader. Veterans who have never played for Hong have admitted to feeling intimidated in the coach’s presence, despite Hong’s insistence that he has mellowed over the years.

Hong Myung-bo, head coach of the South Korean men’s national football team, watches his players during a training session at Goyang Stadium in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, on Sept. 3, 2024. (Yonhap)

On the field, Hong said he will try to strike the right balance between creativity and discipline. On attack, Hong said the performances of Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Lee Kang-in and Tottenham Hotspur stalwart Son Heung-min, two of South Korea’s most gifted offensive players, will be important.

”
Lee Kang-in has great offensive abilities, and we have Son Heung-min also playing well on the opposite side,” Hong said. “I think we created a lot of impressive moments during the second round. But now that we’re about to face tougher opponents, we must try to be more efficient and precise.”

Hong, former national team captain, noted that Son will have an even bigger responsibility off the field as the skipper. Son has been wearing the armband since 2018, making him the longest-serving captain in South Korean national team history.

“I think he may have a bigger role to play than I do. What he does as the leader of the team from start to finish will be crucial,” Hong said. “I fully expect him to remain the great leader that he has been all along. At the same time, I am willing to share some of the burden he has. I hope he can shed himself of some unnecessary weight and do what’s best for himself and for the team.”

On the current national team, Son is one of just two players who also played for Hong at the 20
14 World Cup. Son was still with Bayer Leverkusen then, still years away from becoming the transcendent star that he is today.

Hong said he was proud of the way Son, now 32, has evolved over the past decade.

“Ten years ago, Son Heung-min was regarded as the future face of Korean football. And he is exactly that now,” Hong said. “He has grown up just as many people back then hoped he would.”

Source: Yonhap News Agency