After qualifying for the round of 16 in soccer at the Asian Games, the Hwangseon Hongho is now truly complete.
While “genius midfielder” Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain), who boarded the Hwangsun Hongho on Nov. 21 after a series of twists and turns, has been training in earnest since Nov. 22, flanker Song Min-gyu (Jeonbuk), who arrived in Hangzhou with a calf injury, is rushing to get ready for action.
Song Min-kyu, who has been suffering from calf pain since he was called up to Changwon in early September, has been training and treating his injury since arriving in Hangzhou. He missed the first group game against Kuwait on Sept. 19 and the second against Thailand on Sept. 21 at Hangzhou Jinhua Sports Center Stadium in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China, but was spotted doing sprinting drills separately with the physical staff after the Thailand game. A ‘sign’ of his imminent return
Asian Games head coach Hwang Sun-hong met with Song separately before the team’s 7 p.m. training session at Jinhwa Sports Center Stadium’s auxiliary pitch on Feb. 22. A day before the match against Thailand, Hwang called up striker Park Jae-yong (Jeonbuk). He explained the forward’s movements when a teammate sends him a cross from the flank. Park then started against Thailand and played the full 90 minutes, helping South Korea to a 4-0 victory. 메이저사이트
Following in Park’s footsteps, Song Min-kyu will likely start against Bahrain on Thursday in the final group game. With back-to-back wins over Kuwait (9-0) and Thailand, South Korea has secured a spot in the round of 16 by topping the group, so there is no pressure to produce a result in the final game. Expect South Korea to stick with players like Song Min-kyu and Lee Kang-in, who are either in need of conditioning or haven’t played enough minutes in the first two games.
If Song is included, South Korea’s flanking options are “saturated” to say the least. Jung Woo-young (Stuttgart), who scored a hat trick on the opening day, Uhm Won-sang (Ulsan) and Ahn Jae-joon (Bucheon), who have scored in back-to-back games, and Cho Young-wook (Gimcheon), the “Cheongdae Legend” who can play both up front and on the flanks, are all in the squad. Song Min-kyu is another resource with a different style. He’s usually on the left flank, but he’s also good at cutting into the middle and has the same flair for scoring as a striker.
Assuming Song is fit, there are plenty of resources to utilize. Without Jung Woo-young, we miss Song Min-gyu’s ability to break pressure, and without Song Min-gyu, we miss Jung Woo-young’s one-timer. We also need to decide where and how to utilize Lee Kang-in. With so many options on the flanks, he could be used as a playmaker in the center of the second line, but he’s been lining up on the right flank for both the national team and Paris Saint-Germain recently. However, to make room for Lee on the right, the speedy Uhm Won-sang would have to be benched. Hwang’s woes continue ahead of the round of 16 match on July 27.