It was an overwhelming 9-0 win, but coach Hwang Seon-hong did not let go of his nerves. Even after the victory, he kept a firm expression and ordered them to maintain concentration until the second game against Thailand.
안전놀이터The Asian Games national team, led by coach Hwang Seon-hong, won 9-0 in the first match of Group E of the men’s soccer group stage of the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games against Kuwait held at the Jinhua Sports Center Stadium in Jinhua, China on the 19th (Korean time). The first game of the tournament got off to a refreshing start thanks to the performances of Jung Woo-young, who scored a hat trick, Cho Young-wook, who scored two goals, and Baek Seung-ho, Eom Won-sang, Park Jae-yong, and Ahn Jae-jun, who added one goal each.
The first goal came quickly. In the 3rd minute of the first half, Jung Woo-young hit the opponent’s defense body on the left side of the box and pushed in a deflected ball with a right-footed volley. In the 19th minute of the first half, Cho Young-wook scored an additional goal. Eom Won-sang, who received a long pass from behind, broke the defensive line and shot, and Cho Young-wook caught the ball that flowed out of the goal post and hit the net with a right-footed shot.
At the end of the first half, in the 44th and 45th minutes, two goals were scored in succession. Captain Baek Seung-ho made it 3-0 with a fantastic free kick. Just before the end of the first half, Jung Woo-young calmly pushed it into the corner of the goal in a one-on-one situation in the box.
The national team, which finished the first half with a 4-0 score, continued to score in the second half. When the goalkeeper blocked Cho Young-wook’s shot in the 3rd minute of the second half, Jung Woo-young kicked it back to complete the hat trick. In the 7th minute of the second half, even Eom Won-sang scored a goal. He took Cho Young-wook’s pass and hit the net with a shot that slightly changed direction with his left foot.
The national team, which had been quiet, continued its scoring streak again with Cho Young-wook scoring multiple goals in the 29th minute of the second half. In the 35th minute of the second half, substitute Park Jae-yong scored his 8th goal, further widening the score. In the extra time of the second half, Ahn Jae-jun scored the ninth goal after receiving a pass from substitute Hong Hyun-seok, ending in a pleasant victory for the national team.
But Director Hwang Seon-hong did not laugh. Coach Hwang, who looked at his players with a stern expression throughout the game, went into the locker room without smiling even after winning. He did not let go of his nerves ahead of the second match against Thailand, which was only two days away.
Immediately after the game, the players took a commemorative photo at the ground to commemorate the 9-0 victory. The players as well as the coaching staff showed at least a small smile, but Coach Hwang never changed his stern expression.
At the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games, they remember winning the first game against Bahrain 6-0 but suffering a shock loss against Malaysia in the second game, so they seem to have shown an attitude that they will never let down their guard in this tournament.
Coach Hwang clearly expressed this attitude at the post-game press conference. Coach Hwang praised the players, saying, “I took the first step out of seven. I think the players did a good job as they prepared,” but added, “I want to tell them to be confident but forget everything. To go to a higher place, more preparation and determination are needed.” emphasized.
Coach Hwang scored eight goals alone in the 1994 Hiroshima Asian Games against Nepal (11-0). Regarding this, Coach Hwang said, “A big win is a good thing, but it is something we must be cautious about. Winning by a large score is good, but it can be poisonous,” and said that we must not let down our guard even in this big win against Kuwait.
Coach Hwang added, “I want to quickly forget this first game,” and added, “We have to forget the result and prepare again. More difficult games await us and we still have a long way to go. There is a lot of work to be done. We will emphasize this to our players. “I hope the players will not let go of the tension,” he said.
-What are your thoughts on the game?
This is the first of seven shots. The players worked hard as they prepared. Be confident and forget about the rest. I want to play a game that doesn’t exist. To go to a higher place, you need to prepare more and have higher determination.
-You had a difficult time losing to Malaysia in the second game in the tournament five years ago. How will you prepare for the second game against Thailand?
Mahayana is a pleasant thing, but you must be careful. Winning by a large score is good, but it can also be toxic. I want to quickly forget about the first game. However, I commend them for tactically executing as we had prepared. We need to quickly forget about the results and the situation and prepare for the next game. A more difficult game awaits us. There is a long way to go to successfully conduct such a game. I want to emphasize that to our players. We will also prepare for the second game taking into account the situation of the first game.
-How did you feel while living in Jinhwa?
I came to the stadium for the first time today. I was satisfied with the condition of the practice stadium (which I visited before). The same goes for the stadium. I liked the fact that the conditions were in place for a good game.
-This is the first victory for the entire Korean team.
I also had a burden. I am happy to be able to give good energy to the entire team. However, although it is positive when viewed as a whole, when viewed as a team, we need to be a little more cautious. We need to forget about it and focus on the next game. I hope that with today’s victory, the entire Korean team will have good energy and achieve good results.
-The schedule is tight. I’m curious about the rotation plan.
Take a day off and play the game. Discuss closely with the physical part. Several situations are being considered. Although I say it all here, we are trying to rotate according to the overall preliminary schedule.