Kim Eun-joong’s ‘quick runner’ Kim Yong-hak (Portimonense) expressed regret at the draw against Honduras.
Korea, led by coach Kim Eun-joong, 먹튀검증 played against Honduras at the Mendoza Stadium in Mendoza, Argentina on the 26th in the 2nd leg of Group F of the 2023 FIFA Argentina Under-20 (U-20) World Cup group stage against Kim Yong-hak (Portimonense). Park Seung-ho (Incheon)’s goal tied the match at 2-2.
Korea Republic, which defeated France 2-1 in the last game, took 2nd place in the group with 1 win and 1 draw. Gambia, which defeated Honduras and France, took first place (6 points). Honduras (1 point) and France (0 points) took third and fourth places.
In this tournament, the top 4 teams among the 1st and 2nd places in each group and the 3rd place in 6 groups advance to the Round of 16 tournament. Korea’s advance to the round of 16 will be determined by the results of the last game against Gambia. If they beat Gambia, they will advance to the round of 16 as first place, and even if they draw, they can advance to second place.
Korea allowed Ochoa a penalty kick (PK) in the 18th minute of the first half. Five minutes later, Ochoa hit Bae Seo-joon (Daejeon) in the face and was sent off, gaining a numerical advantage. However, in the 5th minute of the second half, Castillo scored an additional goal and was drawn 0-2. Korea, who pushed hard, finished the game 2-2 with Kim Yong-hak’s recovery goal in the 13th minute and Park Seung-ho’s equalizer in the 17th minute.
After the match, Kim Eun-jung said through the Korea Football Association (KFA), “(I had a numerical advantage), but the opponent came down the line and it was difficult to score. I lacked composure in the chance. I could have scored more, but it’s a pity.”
Manager Kim Eun-joong’s replacement card was successful. At the beginning of the second half, after Park Seung-ho was put in, the attack became active. In the 17th minute of the second half, Park Seung-ho scored an equalizer with an exquisite header and played the role of a solver. However, he was injured shortly after scoring. Manager Kim Eun-joong said, “It’s an unexpected injury, but we have to look at the condition. We have other resources, so we’re not too concerned about this part. We’ll prepare well for the Gambia match.”
Currently, the most important thing for Kim Eun-joong is to recover his physical strength. Manager Kim Eun-jung said, “I have to pour 100% against Gambia, so the current recovery is the most important. I will recover well and go out with the best power.”
With the score trailing 0-2, Kim Yong-hak scored a comeback goal to pave the way for the chase. He looked back on the game, saying, “I aimed for a lot of space behind the opponent’s side before the game, and this worked well.” However, he said, “All the players are regretful because they did not produce results even though they had a numerical advantage.”
Regarding the fact that he could not score more goals, he said, “It seems that the concentration of the players as a whole has decreased in the final pass stage and shot chances.” Kim Yong-hak said, “We have not yet passed the group stage. We will do our best to win the game against Gambia.”