I found a familiar face in the stands of the Hangzhou Xiaoshan Sports Center Stadium in China when I visited to cover Japan’s first Asian Games match. Lee Young-pyo, the ‘trickster’, was a KBS soccer commentator. Commissioner Lee said, “I came to watch Japan’s game, which might meet Korea in this tournament.” At halftime, I had a brief conversation with Lee, a Korean soccer legend and famous for his ‘tweezers commentary.’
Regarding the situation in the first half, where Japan was ahead 2-0 thanks to a direct free kick by Depay Yachida in the 2nd minute and a goal by Kotaro Uchino in the 25th minute, committee member Lee said, “Japan is really good at positioning. Since they are well positioned, the three people “Even if you put pressure on it, it comes off easily,” he said.
Japan, which used a 4-4-2 formation on this day, displayed gear-like organization until the line was disrupted through a series of player substitutions in the early and mid-half of the second half. Uchino, who played as the top two, and Jun Nishigawa, number 10, stood side by side in defense and applied forward pressure, and in attack, Nishigawa came down one space to make play. Uchino’s additional goal came from a sharp cross from Nishigawa. On this day, Japan won 3-1.
It was inevitable that attention would be focused on the two strikers. However, this committee member paid attention to another player. This is number 6 Daiki Matsuoka (Noborizontino), a defensive midfielder. Commissioner Lee commented that Matsuoka played his role very well, including changing direction. He advised us that if we were to face Japan in the tournament, we needed to ‘press’ number 6 well. He also said that there is a need to make good use of the space between center backs and full backs.
The topic of conversation naturally turned to the first group match between Korea and Kuwait held the day before, on the 19th. Commissioner Lee said, “What was good about our team’s game yesterday was consistency.” “We maintained a consistent tempo from the beginning of the first half to the end. Even if we scored multiple goals, we played without getting distracted. I think Coach Hwang Sun-hong was talking to the players about their consistent attitude toward the game,” he said. Starting with Jung Woo-young’s first goal in the 3rd minute of the first half, Korea scored 4 goals in the first half and 5 more in the second half to win 9-0.
On the 21st, when Korea plays the second game against Thailand,바카라 key midfielder Lee Kang-in, who holds the key to the gold medal, leaves Paris and enters Hangzhou. Commissioner Lee said, “Lee Kang-in creates chances. Even if he plays poorly, he is likely to score a goal when he gets a chance, so he will be a great help to the team.”
He continued, “If the Asian Games are a process (for growth) for the Japanese national team players, it is a matter of life for us. We have players coming from PSG! We don’t often send them to the Olympics, but we were selected for the Asian Games.” . Japan mainly selected players born in 2001 and 2002 for this competition. The average age of the starting roster for the Qatar match is about 21.4 years old. The average age of Korea’s starting lineup against Kuwait was about 23.4 years old, two years older. Three wild cards over the age of 24 were also selected. There are 4 people from Europe and 1 person from Japan.
For this reason, Commissioner Lee predicted that Korea has a high probability of winning this competition. In an interview with a media outlet, Gangwon CEO Kim Byeong-ji estimated Korea’s chances of winning as low as 35-40%. Australia, which is not participating in this tournament, was selected as a candidate for the championship. Member Lee said, “It’s not that much, it’s 60-70%. If you have this many members, it’s that much. I think the semifinals of this tournament are Korea, Japan, Saudi Arabia, and Uzbekistan, and we can meet them in the semifinals or finals.” “If you’re not good enough, you have to go to the military. That’s why Lee Kang-in and other players seem to be determined to survive. There will be two difficult times, and you have to overcome them well,” he said.