The Korean national soccer team faced Uruguay after 4 months. Attention is focusing on whether coach Jurgen Klinsmann (59) will make his first victory against Uruguay.
The soccer team led by coach Klinsman will play a friendly match against Uruguay at the Seoul World Cup Stadium at 8:00 pm on the 28th. Klinsmann’s second opponent, Uruguay, is a South American powerhouse. Uruguay, ranked 16th in the FIFA rankings, is 9 places above Korea (25th). Even in the past record, they are far ahead of Korea with 6 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss.
Uruguay was the opponent in the first leg of the group stage of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. At the time, Korea, led by former coach Paulo Bento, struggled against Uruguay, which was rated as one level higher, but drew without scoring. There were many reviews saying that he fought so well that it would not be strange even if he won. This is because the forward pressure and organic passing prepared by Korea were effective against Uruguay.
Now that match is in the past. It’s a return match in just four months, but both teams have changed a lot. After parting ways with coach Bento after the World Cup, Korea left coach Klinsman at the helm. Coach Klinsman, who shouted ‘attack football’, showed impressive tactics in his debut match against Colombia held on the 24th. He pursued a faster, more direct attack than Ben Tuho. Giving Son Heung-min a ‘free role’ is also a notable change.
However, the composition of the members is similar to that of the World Cup in Qatar because coach Klinsman did not have enough time to understand the players after taking office. Hong Cheol (Daegu FC) and Yoon Jong-gyu (FC Seoul) could not board the first round of the Klinsman due to injury, and Lee Gi-je (Suwon Samsung) was marked with the Taegeuk mark instead. In addition, Seol Young-woo (Ulsan Hyundai) was selected as a replacement after Kim Jin-soo (Jeonbuk Hyundai), who suffered a back injury in the game against Colombia, dropped the horse.
Uruguay has also changed its head. Uruguay parted ways with coach Diego Alonso, who failed to advance to the round of 16 at the World Cup in Qatar four months ago. Uruguay faces South Korea under the temporary head coach Marcelo Brolly’s U-20 (under 20) national team coaching system.
The range of squad changes is also large. Edinson Cavani (Valencia) defender Diego Godin (Veles Sarsfield), who was punished by FIFA for violently protesting to referees and officials after the World Cup group stage, was removed from Uruguay’s list. Goalkeeper Luis Suarez (Gremiu) was also excluded. Key members Darwin Nunez (Liverpool) and Ronald Araujo (FC Barcelona) also fell from the horse due to injury ahead of the A-match period, weakening their power. 스포츠토토
Korea and Uruguay drew side by side on the 24th. Klinsmanho overwhelms Colombia and the first half with ‘high tempo’ football with strong pressure and fast development. However, in the second half, the challenge was to concede two goals, revealing a decline in physical strength and concentration. Uruguay was unable to decide the winner after giving and receiving one goal from Japan. Ace Federico Valverde (Real Madrid) played a brilliant role in the Japanese net. Uruguay lost possession against Japan, but proved strong despite missing several key resources.
Faced with Uruguay again, the Taegeuk warriors are determined to win. Lee Jae-sung, who played an active role in the match against Uruguay four months ago, said, “After the Colombia match, the coach told me to win the next game unconditionally. Even the players are aware of that. Also, the fans are motivated because they want to win. We will prepare for victory in the remaining time.”