European Face ↓ & Alternative Training Center & Team Dualization, Hong Myung-bo's agony is endless

European Face ↓ & Alternative Training Center & Team Dualization, Hong Myung-bo's agony is endless

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The challenge facing Korea is to advance to the World Cup finals for the 11th time in a row, the 12th time in a row. Korea, which is in Group B of the final Asian qualifying round for the 2026 North-China World Cup, is leading the group with four wins, four draws and 16 points, but it has yet to confirm its advance to the finals.
The ninth away match in Iraq, which will be held in Basra on June 6 (Korea time), is very important. Even with the draw, they can secure tickets to the finals after Iran in Group A and Japan in Group C, but if they lose, they will be burdened with the 10th home game against Kuwait scheduled for June 10 at the Seoul World Cup Stadium. The gap is not so easy with Jordan (3 wins, 4 draws and 1 loss, 13 points) in the group and Iraq (3 wins, 3 draws and 2 losses, 12 points) in the third place.

The national team is full of worries ahead of a match of fate. Above all, concerns are growing over the decline in the pace of players playing in European leagues, which is the core of the national team's performance. Captain Son Heung-min (Tottenham Hotspur) has been absent for a long time due to a foot injury, while Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton), who has poor foot areas and muscles, is also at rock bottom. Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich) also frequently feels tired from his Achilles tendon, while Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain) and Lee Myung-jae (Birmingham City) struggle to secure playing time even though they do not have any notable injuries.

At this point, Lee Jae-sung (Mainz), Baek Seung-ho (Birmingham City), and Seol Young-woo (Trvena Zvezda) are the only players who consistently play their part in health. Coach Hong Myung-bo and the national team's coaching staff frequently check and update the physical conditions of major European leaguers, but there is a limit to "remote management." After all, it is important for the players to do their best to manage themselves.

There is another concern. Securing a training site is another cause for concern. While most European leagues are scheduled to end in late May during the 2024-2025 season, there is no place for overseas players who are about to join the national team to train before the call-up. In June, when the pre-season begins, the national team usually uses the Paju National Training Center to manage their conditions by conducting overseas players' commuting training. However, now that the contract with Paju NFC has expired, it is necessary to secure an alternative training facility. It is unreasonable to use the Korea National Football Center under construction in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province in many ways. 안전놀이터

Planning an expedition to Iraq that is most efficient is also difficult. Given the huge safety issue, the team only set the policy of minimizing the duration of stay in Iraq and flying a chartered plane. In particular, Iraq, which has been designated as a "no-travel country" by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is not allowed to enter the country individually, forcing all members of the national team to move at once. Considering the difference in the six-hour period between Seoul and Basra, the national team has no choice but to seriously consider dualizing the national team. "We have also received guidelines to minimize the size of our squad. We need to form a team based on our conditions and physical conditions," said a staff member of the national team.