In the first of two friendlies ahead of the World Cup, South Korea handily beat T&T 5-0. It wasn’t all smooth sailing as the scoreline would suggest; for most of the first half we misplaced passes; we were unable to advance the ball; we were too rigid – all the usual issues that we’ve seen with Hong Myung Bo-ball since 2013. But after some tactical changes in the second half, most notably by weighing our formation more towards a 4-back than a 3/5-back, we looked much better and the floodgates opened. We looked like our best selves, albeit against weak opposition (with all due respect to T&T).
Presumably, our objectives for this friendly were 1) get accustomed to the elevation and 2) fine tune our tactics. To my eyes it was clear that while we struggled with tactics and the elevation initially, we got better and better as the game went on, and the results reflect that shift.
The match may have been a feel-good win but tragedy soon followed, as Cho Yu Min couldn’t walk on his own after a tear in his right plantar fascia. The man who probably played more minutes at CB than anyone else on the team outside of Kim Min Jae during World Cup qualifiers, tragically was ruled out for 8 weeks and had to be replaced by Cho Wi Je, one of the three “training partner” picks.
On a personal sidenote, I had the privilege of attending this match. All the photos in this post (except the starting XI pic) were taken on my phone. After the game, I was an arm’s length away from the team walking out of the locker room and into the bus. I even said hi to Jens and he looked back at me – Jens if you are reading this as one of the few fluent English speakers on the team, I’m a huge fan and I’m so thankful you chose to represent Korea! Seeing the players up close, from warming up before the game to leaving the building, was truly one of the most memorable moments in my life as a Korean football fan.
The lineup was as follows:
Interestingly, HMB switched up the usual jersey numbers for many of the players in a 1:1 fashion. For example Kim Min Jae and Park Jin Seob switched jersey numbers; Lee Ki Hyeok and Cho Gue Sung swapped; Son Heung Min and Lee Tae Seok swapped, etc.
It was a 3 back yet again. Lee Ki Hyeok (debutante, plays both CB and LB), Cho Yu Min (sweeper), and Lee Han Beom (RCB) at CB, Jens and Kim Moon Hwan as wingbacks, Paik and Kim Jin Kyu as CM, and a 3 top of Bae LW, Son up top, and Lee Dong Gyeong RW. And as I alluded to, we witnessed EVERYTHING that has defined how frustrating Hong Myung Bo’s style of football can be For the first 30 minutes, the buildup was poor. We only had two formulas for offense: 1) long ball behind the defense and 2) make space out wide and cross… to Son Heung Min in the box. No one could drive the ball forward, the wide CBs were static and didn’t do what most CBs in a 3 back system do (contribute to the attack out wide by drawing attackers out of position and creating space for the wingbacks or the CMs). I went to the game with a friend who lives in Park City Utah and we were bloody livid the first half. It was perhaps exacerbated by the fact that earlier in the day, Luis Enrique left Lee Kang In on the bench the entire 120 minutes of the Champions League final, despite the fact that PSG couldn’t cross, hold onto the ball, or pass to save their lives – things Lee Kang In does at a world class level. It really seemed like we might draw to T&T – after all HMB has drawn to Palestine and other weaker sides in the past.
Now to be fair, I wonder if some of our errors came from not being fully accustomed to altitude. As detailed in an earlier post, the ball travels much faster and with less swerve high above sea level. Maybe the players became used to it over time because the pass misses became less frequent as the game progressed. Cho Gue Sung told the media in an interview that he felt the ball go faster and his lips dry up. I believe Guadalajara is not quite as dry as Utah is (in June at least), but it is great that they adapted to the elevation over time.
The second half, we became much more dynamic in formation. If we adhered to a rigid 3-4-3 (with the wingbacks pushing as high as the attackers in offense, closer to a 3-2-5) in the first half, the second half was more fluid, switching between 3-4-3 and a 4-4-2 as HMB has always preached about, with LCB/LB Lee Ki Hyeok pushing higher up the pitch like a left back. This is nothing new – we’ve been practicing this since the September friendlies (before it was SYW pushing up and LTS tucking in as a LCB). But the change made us play MUCH better in the second half than in the first half. The difference was glaringly obvious: we play better in a 2 or 4 ATB.
To illustrate this shift between 3 back and 4 back, contrast these two photos. In this first photo from the second half we see the usual 3-2-5 that HMB so favors:
Next we see a clear 4-4-2 / 4-2-4 (sorry for quality, this is a screeshot from a video)
HMB likes this fluid 3 back 4 back transition and has liked it since his Ulsan Hyundai days. Any team that plays 3 back (correctly) knows that with the lateral CBs advancing up the pitch, you can create numerical overloads in the flanks while attacking. Lee Ki Hyeok or Seol Young Woo can push up and a DM (Paik Seung Ho, Hwang In Beom) can drop deep, drawing players out of position and ensuring that empty space is covered. The LW, LWB, and the LCB create passing triangles and the same for the R side. Hence why it’s extra important for that DM to slot into the defensive line because otherwise we get totally exploitable empty space behind the trio.
This is one of the few times where what Hong Myung Bo SAYS he wants to do actually worked out the way he intended. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always work out, and this was a friendly against really low-level opposition. We go mega-offense like we did against T&T… a big weakness emerges. You can even see it in the above two photos: the space behind the fullbacks becomes mega-exploitable. For a textbook example of what not to do, all we have to do is think back to the game against Ivory Coast. Presumably we’ve ironed out when to push up and when to sit back …. right?
Lee Ki Hyeok’s debut
While admittedly against weaker opposition, Lee Ki Hyeok did perform very well. Though he struggled with long balls at first, his passing game improved greatly and he excelled in his role as a hybrid LCB/LB. In Hong Myung Bo’s preferred buildup patterns, he needs a CB to drift left or drift right to fill in the space left by a very high up fullback (the dangers of which we saw vs Ivory Coast, and improved upon vs Austria). After the match, Hong Myung Bo was asked why we had LKH as the LCB. HMB replied saying it was to draw out the strengths of LKH and Jens – LKH is a left footed CB, and used that left foot to spray passes up front towards Jens, or out to Kim Moon Hwan on the opposite flank.
He has to work on certain aspects, but if he does, he can become an excellent CB. Castrop likes to take on defenders 1v1 and cut inside. We asked [Lee Ki Hyeok the LCB] to cover the space left behind by Castrop. This was a tactic designed to maximize the strengths of both Lee Ki-hyuk and Castrop. Overall, I’d say that Lee did well. The intent was to utilize Lee’s precise passing out from the back using his left foot. While he still has areas to iron out, I believe that if those are corrected, he can develop into an excellent player. Castrop likes to cut inside immediately after beating his man 1v1. I instructed the other players to cover the space vacated by Castrop. In terms of what he needs to work on.. Lee Ki Hyeok has a tendency to play a bit too casual/complacent. This is an issue that was consistently pointed out to him even in K League 1. As a defender, playing with an erratic/unpredictable style creates a sense of insecurity for the players around him. Since he is a player with many strengths, he needs to quickly minimize these shortcomings.
Remember back in 2025 when Lee Ki Hyeok was called up once but didn’t play? He was called up as a midfielder because he can play DM as well. He sure passes and moves like a midfielder, with several key passes to Son Heung Min or Bae Jun Ho most memorably. For example, if Jens (super high up the pitch) would track back and drag the RB with him, Bae Jun Ho would make a run into the empty space, and LKH was able to find those kinds of passes.
So there’s no question that Lee Ki Hyeok is a player that can slot into HMB’s tactics very well. In the K League LKH is considered one of the best CBs, with the most successful long balls in the league (excluding goalkeepers) and most “터오버 획득” (when you win the ball back as a defender either through tackles or interceptions) in the league. He used to play as a winger back in 2021-2022, but then became a DM, then became a LCB (not sure how that progression happened but it worked out). Naturally, he used to be a much better passer/attacker than he was a defender, but per Korean media, his 1v1 defending has improved a lot. If he can play well against T&T, the question is if he will be effective against stronger opponents. Can Lee Ki Hyeok keep up against the speedy wingers of Mexico? Or would Lee Tae Seok or Kim Tae Hyeon perform better? I don’t know the answer to that.
Cho Yu Min and the CB dilemma vs Czechia
First off it should be appreciated how unfortunate Cho Yu Min’s injury is. He injured the R plantar fascia in a non-contact fashion; he injured this area before, and as he came back to the players bench you could see the players asking him “this injury again?” Outside of Kim Min Jae it was CYM who got the most minutes at CB for World Cup qualifying, so losing him in a friendly seems especially tragic to me.
I also heard that some fans were saying negative things in front of Cho Yu Min as he walked out with the rest of the team towards the team bus on crutches. That’s messed up guys. As we know, Korean fans sure can be toxic…
Some of the more cynical fans have been commenting that this is a blessing in disguise. From purely a footballing standpoint, I’m not 100% in agreement. Cho Yu Min is one of the better CBs we have after Kim Min Jae, and it seemed to me he was almost sure to be the third CB of choice after KMJ and LHB (Kim Ju Sung was in the running too but got injured). Who fills in for CYM if we are going to play 3 CBs? Presumably Lee Ki Hyeok after a good debut? Or does HMB rate Kim Tae Hyeon more? Or perhaps even Lee Tae Seok, the more defensive LB (compared to Castrop), who can act as a defensive LCB while Jens provides the width and the attacking prowess?
Czech media is openly reporting that Korea does not possess players who can match their super tall #9s (Patrick Schick being the most famous) outside of Kim Min Jae, and that Czechia should just whip in crosses to wherever Kim Min Jae isn’t. While Kim Min Jae is obviously our best CB (and the only world class CB in the entire group), Lee Han Beom is just as tall as Kim Min Jae (if not a cm or two taller depending on the source) and his aerial ability is strong enough for the Danish Super League title contenders and Danish Cup winners. Whoever our third CB will be, this aspect is definitely something to consider at least against Czechia, where physicality and aerial prowess will be extra important. Against Mexico I’d wager that speed and 1v1 defending are more important attributes.
Brief El Salvador preview:
I honestly don’t know much about the Salvadorean national team outside of their rivalry with Honduras and the fact that they have not played in a World Cup in decades. So I’ll just list off things I expect/hope from this game:
Presumably Hong Myung Bo will warm up new players in the starting XI. I expect Lee Tae Seok and Seol Young Woo to start. Maybe we warm up our starting CM line in PSH-HIB before traveling to Guadalajara, and the guys who didn’t play against T&T like Oh Hyeon Gyu and maybe even Yang Hyeon Jun will probably start. There is even a possibility that HMB became REALLY enamored with Lee Ki Hyeok and will play him a full 90 again to test out how well he fits into his system.
I hope that we see less tactical rigidity, and that we play a little bit less of “all out offense.” El Salvador is likely a stronger team than T&T, so we might get caught off guard like we did against Ivory Coast. Considering how late (less than a year ago) we adopted a totally new starting XI formation, we need all the prep we can get before the actual tournament starts.
The biggest thing though is that we don’t get injured. El Salvador, like most of CONCACAF and COMNEBOL, play extremely rough, borderline dirty. The last thing we need is another injury before the WC.
For fun:
Some context about why we’re in Brigham Young University at a tiny field. As detailed in an earlier post, we play in Guadalajara in a stadium 1600m above sea level. It is suspected that within the KFA top brass there is someone (or multiple people) with connections to the Mormon church, and thus it was decided to hold a training camp to adjust to the high altitude in Salt Lake City. Reportedly the game was supposed to be held at Real Salt Lake (MLS team)’s stadium, but due to issues with the quality of the pitch it was decided to play both games at Brigham Young University’s (the preeminent Mormon university) South Field – a women’s college soccer stadium with a capacity of less than 3500. Beautiful backdrop of mountains, but I’m pretty sure our players have never played in a field like this since their youth team days.
I also got to watch the players train right in front of me. Yoon Ki Wook, Kim Seung Gyu, Song Beom Keun, and Cho Wi Je were closest to where I was standing:
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