The 2018 Jakarta Palembang Asian Games men’s soccer team is evaluated as the strongest team of all time.
Kim Hak-beom, who set his sights on winning the championship, called up three key players in the A national team, including Son Heung-min, goalkeeper Cho Hyun-woo, and striker Hwang Ui-jo, as wild cards. In addition, players currently active in the national team A, including ‘monster defender’ Kim Min-jae, who played for Jeonbuk Hyundai, as well as Kim Moon-hwan and Hwang In-beom, are members of this tournament. Kim Hak-beom was defeated by Malaysia in the group stage, but changed the atmosphere by beating the favorite Iran 2-0 in the round of 16 and advancing to the quarterfinals.
But the quarterfinals were a problem. The quarterfinal opponent, Uzbekistan, passed Group B with an overwhelming result of 3 wins, no loss, 10 goals and no conceding, and then easily defeated Hong Kong 3-0 in the round of 16.
Even against Korea, the favorite to win, it was not easy. There was a fierce battle against Korea’s leading players such as Son Heung-min, Hwang Ui-jo, and Na Sang-ho, and the 90 minutes ended with a 3-3 score. Korea barely defeated Uzbekistan 4-3 thanks to Hwang Hee-chan’s penalty kick winning goal in the 12th minute of the second half of extra time.토토사이트
The strong memories from 4 years ago led to caution. Even before the competition, Uzbekistan was considered the strongest candidate to disrupt Korea’s path to victory, just like it did four years ago. Until this tournament, the best performance in the Asian Games was the quarterfinals, but through systematic management of national teams by age group, they have quickly emerged as a powerhouse in Asian soccer, threatening the systems of Korea, Japan, and Iran. The fact that they finished second after Saudi Arabia in the Asian Under-23 Cup held in Uzbekistan last June proves their upward trend.
The fact that Uzbekistan is rapidly narrowing the gap with Asian powerhouses such as Korea is also revealed in recent opponent-to-play records. The Korean under-23 national team is ahead of Uzbekistan with 10 wins, 2 draws, and 2 losses in the past 14 games played against them, and their record against Uzbekistan in the last 3 games is 1 win, 1 draw, and 1 loss. The last match was a 1-1 draw in an evaluation match held in Hwaseong in September of last year. Before the game at the time, coach Hwang Seon-hong praised Uzbekistan, saying, “Uzbekistan has a fast transition speed. They have good organized movements. They are a team with a good sense of unity so that it is difficult to find any shortcomings.” This is a team that was also included in Coach Hwang’s list of precautions prior to the tournament.
In addition, Uzbekistan had the advantage of playing one less game than Korea. In Group C, which Uzbekistan was in, two teams, Afghanistan and Syria, announced their withdrawal from the tournament, so they were confirmed to the round of 16 along with Hong Kong without even playing a game. Due to fairness, one more game was played in addition to the scheduled game against Hong Kong, but since the round of 16 was confirmed, it was a situation where they could relax. They also won 1-0, 2-1, and advanced to the semifinals by defeating Indonesia in the round of 16 and Saudi Arabia in the quarterfinals by 2-0, 2-1.
When asked about Uzbekistan after the game against China, Coach Hwang said, “They are quite straightforward, powerful and energetic. They are a team that fights, so if they fight together, it can become difficult. We have to prepare well.”
Korea is the team showing off the best performance in this tournament. Starting with three group stage games, he scored a total of 23 goals in the round of 16 and quarterfinals. The only goal conceded was one goal in the round of 16 against Kyrgyzstan. Director Hwang emphasized, “I believe that the best enemy right now is within us. We must never let our guard down. We will take a step back, think, and approach cautiously.”
At a press conference after the match against Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan coach Timur Kapadze said, “Our goal for this tournament is to become a champion,” and when asked about the moment when the team won the 1994 Asian Games, he raised his voice and said, “I want to write history again.”
The semifinals of the tournament between Korea and Uzbekistan will be held at Hangzhou Huanglong Sports Center on the 4th. The winning team will face the semifinal winners from Hong Kong and Japan in the final.
No Responses