Hong Myung-bo will score a goal to celebrate his advance to the World Cup finals against Kuwait
Hong Myung-bo will score a goal to celebrate his advance to the World Cup finals against Kuwait
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Hong Myung-bo is trying to set off a "goal firecracker" to celebrate his advance to the 2026 North Korea-China World Cup finals in front of home fans at the sacrifice of Kuwait.
The South Korean national soccer team, led by head coach Hong Myung-bo, will play the final match of Group B of the third Asian qualifying round for the 2026 North-China World Cup against Kuwait at 8 p.m. on the 10th at Seoul World Cup Stadium.
Korea, which ranks first in Group B with 19 points, won 2-0 in its ninth away match against Iraq on June 6, and has secured a berth to directly advance to the finals along with Jordan, which ranks second with 16 points. The team has continued to advance to the World Cup finals for 11 consecutive times.
The only thing that can change through the results against Kuwait is whether it can maintain its lead in the group.
South Korea and Jordan both have +9 goals in goal difference, which is considered when the points are the same.
If South Korea loses to Kuwait and Jordan wins a home game against Iraq, South Korea will drop to second place and finish the third qualifying round to gain "self-esteem."
There is another reason for Hong Myung-bo to win a cool victory other than "No. 1 Mercury."
The reality is that Hong Myung-bo departed without applause due to the "unfair controversy" in the process of appointing Hong last year, and many fans' eyes are still cold.
Compared to Japan and Iran, which confirmed their advance to the finals early in March, Hong Myung-bo's "late" advance to the finals itself is also undermined.
The only way to turn the fans' minds is to win multiple points.
Kuwait, which is at the bottom of the group with the most 16 runs among the six teams in Group B, is the perfect team for Hong Myung-bo to challenge for multiple points.
South Korea won 3-1 in the away game of Game 5 against Kuwait with Oh Se-hoon (Machida)'s first goal, Son Heung-min (Tottenham)'s additional penalty goal, and Bae Joon-ho (Stoke City)'s net goal.
However, it is a bad news for Hong Myung-bo that Son Heung-min is likely not to play again this time following the 9th game.
Son Heung-min contributed to the victory by playing in the UEFA Europa League final after overcoming a foot injury at the end of last season for his team.
Son, who has yet to fully recover from his injury, is not included in the list of players for Game 9. Moon Seon-min (Seoul) played with Son's jersey number, No. 7.
As he already has a ticket to the finals, Hong seems to have no reason to force Son Heung-min to play against Kuwait.
Bae Joon-ho, Yang Min-hyuk (Celtic), and Jeon Jin-woo (Jeonbuk), who are seeking his backup position, are expected to compete fiercely.
Strikers Oh Se-hoon and Oh Hyun-kyu (Henk), who should break Kuwait's defense at the front, are also expected to play well. 메이저놀이터
Oh Hyun-kyu, who scored three goals as a substitute in the Hong Myung-bo team, including a 2-0 net against Iraq, will be expected to "start."
Oh Se-hoon did not score in the match against Iraq, but he faithfully played a role in relieving the opposing defenders from the front line.