Korean Olympics - Asiad Champion Class
(Baonghean.vn) - "Although I don't have enough time to prepare for the match with Vietnam, Korea will still win. We will definitely win," coach Kim Hak-bum confidently said before the match. In fact, his students did what he said they would do when they easily won 3-1 against Olympic Vietnam.
As the reigning Asian Games champion, an Asian football powerhouse with 9 World Cup appearances and 4 Asian Games championships, coach Kim Hak-bum still has respect for the Vietnam Olympic team.
Unlike the group stage, he sent five players who had participated in the 2018 World Cup with the Korean national team onto the field from the start. They were striker Son Heung Min, goalkeeper Jo Hyeon-woo, midfielder Lee Seung-woo, striker Hwang Ui-jo and striker Hwang Hee-chan.
Among them, 26-year-old Son Heung Min is the most famous star in Korea as well as Asia, playing for Tottenham. World Cup 2018 hero - goalkeeper Jo Hyeon Woo, who suffered a knee injury and had to miss the quarter-final match against Uzbekistan, has also returned to the goal.
Too fast, too strong
Coach Kim Hak-bum did not hide his intention to win early, rest early to save energy for the final. The Korean players were both strong and skillful, passing freely, combining "slapping" and cutting the flanks, making our 3 central defenders dizzy.
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| "Korean Messi" - Lee Seung Woo is the best Korean player in this match. Photo: Internet |
Seeing them occupy space and space with a leisurely attitude, without losing their composure, shows the superior class of Korean football. Playing fast, combining team play with individual breakthroughs, the fact that the player dubbed "Korean Messi" Lee Seung Woo scored 2 goals (7', 56') and Hwang Ui-jo (28') scored 3 goals was within prediction.
In the second half, coach Kim Hak-bum withdrew Hwang Ui-jo, Son Heung-min, and Lee Seung-woo in preparation for the final match. Son Heung-min, in addition to scoring one goal, had four assists. His no-look pass to Hwang Ui-jo to make it 2-0 showed his outstanding class.
In fact, only when the Korean Olympic players slowed down the pace of the match and used many long, high passes did the Vietnamese Olympic players have a chance to approach goalkeeper Jo Hyeon Woo's goal.
Players Cho Yumin, Lee Jinhyun, Kim Jungmin prevented Quang Hai and Van Duc from attacking the flank. Center back Kim Jinya with his superior height did not give Anh Duc any chance.
With their level, the Korean players had no difficulty neutralizing the attacks of Van Duc, Xuan Manh and the Vietnamese players.
Minh Vuong's masterpiece
Meanwhile, Mr. Park took a risk using the central midfielder pair Duc Huy and Xuan Truong - who played in Korea for 2 years - in the starting lineup. Compared to the match againstSyria Olympic Coach Park Hang Seo made 3 substitutions, Van Manh, Xuan Truong and Van Duc entered the field from the start.
He kept his "savings" Van Quyet, Cong Phuong, Van Toan on the bench and did not let central midfielder Minh Vuong, who has not played in the last 5 matches, enter the field.
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| Minh Vuong scored a great goal against Lee Seung Woo. Photo: Internet |
In fact, Duc Huy was exhausted after the match against Olympic Syria, and Xuan Truong understood his opponent but was "powerless". The reluctant central midfielders Van Duc and Xuan Truong could not change the situation because Tuyen Quang players did not have the skills to compete for the ball.
Only when Minh Vuong entered the field to replace Xuan Truong, the Korean Olympic players no longer fought fiercely for the ball, did our attack have the ball.
In fact, our aggressive style of play sometimes caused player Son Heung Min to receive a yellow card for time-wasting and Na Sangho to receive a yellow card for a foul on Van Quyet.
Minh Vuong's equalizer 1-3 deserves to be listed among the beautiful goals of the 18th Asiad. The free kick from a distance of more than 20 meters, sending the ball into the near corner, leaving goalkeeper Hyeon Woo helpless.
A 1-3 defeat against an opponent of far superior class is not a disaster for Vietnam Olympic team, but it would be a pity if Minh Vuong, with his full physical strength, had been on the field from the start.
For Coach Park Hang Seo and most Vietnamese fans, losing to a strong opponent like South Korea is not surprising. To be frank, if the physical strength of the Vietnamese Olympic team was not affected after the match with the Syrian Olympic team, we would still have difficulty standing firm against the Korean players.
Coach Park Hang Seo and his team showed great courage in this match but in the end they could not do anything more against a very strong opponent. The Korean Olympic team is full of opportunities to win the 5th Asian Games men's football gold medal.
