[WC26] Korea Republic 2-1 Czechia: Player Ratings

Writer’s note: Tim here! It’s been 9(!) years since my last Tavern post, but the energy of a home (sort of) World Cup has convinced me to dust off this old account and get the gang back together for some player ratings. The post will be edited once Roy finds some time away from the kids and Jinseok finds his way back to the hotel. Full review to come later.

Jinseok interjecting here: it is 3:10 AM here in Guadalajara and I just got to opening my laptop. I will fill out my player ratings tomorrow, as well as finish up our full Czechia recap! Technically today I guess..

Jae also interjecting here: The World Cup brings everyone out of the woods! A sleep later (and time to let the euphoria wear off) and I’ll stick in my one sentence thoughts on each player (I suck at ratings but will do them regardless).

For the first time since 2010, Korea has won their opening game at the FIFA World Cup. The natural instinct as Korean fans is to bemoan the errors — the predictable set piece goal, Son’s frustrating inability to convert his chances, and Kim Seunggyu bailing us out on a couple of occasions. But we knew the Czechs were dangerous on set-pieces, and we knew that a lot of our players are out-of-form or, in Son’s case, past his peak. So that narrative doesn’t deserve much more attention. With what we had, we were good. Korea had over 60% possession, completed twice as many passes, had twice as many shots, and double Czechia’s xG. We controlled large parts of the game, responded well to the Czechs’ goal, and generated genuine momentum in their final third. Our odds of qualifying to the Round of 32, per Opta, sits at 93%. Deserved winners. Happy days.

GK: Kim Seunggyu

• Tim: Gave me a couple heart attacks with his deft-but-dangerous footwork. But the goal line save on Hlozek in the 82′ preserved the win. 8
• Jae: I still personally prefer Jo Hyeonwoo to Kim Seunggyu, but his late save was brilliant. Not too busy otherwise. – 7.5

LCB: Lee Gihyuk

• Tim: Got caught with his pants down early in the first half, missed the clearing header off the Soucek goal. But he like the right of the backline won most of their aerial duels against an imposing Czech front line. 6
• Jae: I don’t remember him doing a huge amount, so I’ll just say I agree with Tim – 6.

CCB: Kim Minjae

• Tim: Won most of his duels, completed most of his passes, had one or two moments where he stepped up into attack and carried. 7
• Jae: Was solid and certainly showed that when it’s a physical battle he more than holds his own. – 7

RCB: Lee Hanbeom

• Tim: Seemed less busy than LGH, to be honest I can’t remember much of what he did. 6
• Jae: Can’t remember a huge amount of stuff coming down his side, but regardless when you’re a defender the less highlight stuff is usually a good thing. – 6.5

LWB: Lee Taeseok

• Tim: Honestly felt pretty invisible but no glaring errors. He had that nice low cross to Son at the end of the first half, which Son probably should have buried. 6
• Jae: Nothing massive of note. I’m still not sure why we’re playing with wingbacks. – 6

DM: Paik Seungho

• Tim: Tidy and that ball over the top to Hwang for the second goal was sublime. 7
• Jae: Solid and, once again, agreeing with Tim – 7

CM: Hwang Inbeom

• Tim: How far he has come from his Daejeon Citizen days. Canadian commentariat was raving about him after the game. Impressive composure on the first goal; amazing run, touch, and cross on the second. 10
• Jae: Easily the MotM. Ability to stop, control, and float the ball over the keeper and sliding defender was amazing. – 9

RWB: Seol Youngwoo

• Tim: I’ve probably taken too much time away from the KNT to notice these things but again, seemed pretty invisible. Think he had a nice switch pass at some point. 6
• Jae: Seemed busier than Lee Taeseok on the left, but don’t really remember him doing anything of note. – 6.5

LW: Lee Jaesung

• Tim: Was linking up well with Son and put in an energetic performance. Unlucky not to bury our first chance of the second half — Hwang’s shot from deep which the keeper spilled into Lee’s path. 7
• Jae: Felt it was a fairly typical showing from Lee Jaesung. Busy and involved, but not decisive. – 7

RW: Lee Kangin

• Tim: He was feeling himself today. Played with a lot of confidence, wish he had gotten a bit more involved in the first half. Ultimately the switches with HIB were particularly effective. The assist on that first goal was perfectly weighed. More please. 9
• Jae: Lee Kangin remains difficult for me. Always immensely talented and ridiculous on the ball, but I still feel he’s a touch/second too slow to really become that consistently decisive player in a match. – 8

FW: Son Heungmin

• Tim: He will of course be frustrated that he didn’t score. But having a Son still goes a long way. He sucks in defenses and opens up space for other players. I’m skeptical about how deep he receives the ball sometimes and how impatient he is to create something (or just shoot) when he does. It ultimately was not a problem on the day. 7
• Jae: SBS before the game showed the three crying faces of Son at each of the last 3 World Cups. I said to my daughter that his crying face for this one will be out of frustration he isn’t scoring. Not sure what’s going on at LAFC, but he’s clearly just out of form. If he’s going to remain in that 9 position, he either needs to channel his inner Harry Kane and start passing more or his inner (older) CR7 and stick closer to the goal. – 6.5

Sub: Hwang Heechan (62′)

• Tim: Did little of note apart from dribble the ball for like two minutes into a Czech defender. 6
• Jae: Like Tim, I just remember him trying to dribble past that defender before losing the ball. – 6

Sub: Oh Hyeongyu (69′)

• Tim: Good run for the second goal. I honestly did not hate how we looked with a more conventional 9 (even if I’d rather Son start). 8
• Jae: He got the winning goal, so a good rating for Oh Hyeongyu. – 7.5

Sub: Eom Jisung (69′)

• Tim: Did a double-take when I saw the name. Seemed lively. 6
• Jae: Lively, pacey, and willing to run at defenders. – 6.5

Other subs: Kim Jingyu, Park Jinseob (84′) NR

Gaffer: Hong Myungbo

• Tim: After the disaster 2014 campaign, he finally has his first World Cup win as a manager. There were a lot of complaints about Castrop not starting the game (or getting any minutes). But ultimately, the team generally coped well with Czechia’s physicality, was able to find joy playing through and going long, and was rarely vulnerable from open play. You’d wish we’d have learned to defend set pieces better, but unless we end up playing England I’m not sure we’ll play another team so good at those again. The decision to take off Son was ballsy, but Oh getting the game-winner definitely helps. He’ll get a break from his usual media shellacking today. 8
• Jae: Unless Son had an issue (or it was pre-decided), taking off Son with the 1st sub was (as Tim said) ballsy. Fortunately, it worked out for Hong otherwise (that being said it was the right choice because Son is clearly out of form). I’m not a fan of the 3-4-3 yet and I don’t think the team was really set up well from the start. But a win is a win. – 7