Cha Du-Ri leaves KNT a winner / goal video of Korea v New Zealand

Yet another unconvincing result for Korea, nearly an embarrassing scoreless draw with the Kiwis but for a late attack – Kim Bo-Kyung’s shot deflected, rebound to Lee Jae-Sung, the newcomer collects it to net the winner in the 86th minute.  It’s his first KNT goal in only his 2nd cap and the youngster now looks to have a bright international future ahead. For Cha Du-Ri, who left in the 42nd minute after giving his final performance in the 1st half, one of the last remaining members of the historic World Cup class of 2002, he rides into the sunset as a winner.

We await player ratings and a more thorough review of the  by Jinseok. Meanwhile here’s the winning goal and Cha’s reaction:

Tavern Owner on the run, but I can add that Cha was in beast mode yet again, charging down the right with bravado.  His cross to Han Kyo-Won nearly connected for an early goal. But with 3 minutes left before the half, his time was up and he handed the captain’s armband to Ki Sung-Yeung. The old man left to Seoul’s thunderous applause and was visibly emotional.  He gave a halftime speech and was in tears when his father, the legend, Cha Bum-Kun met him at the halfway line to deliver flowers for his final KNT bow.

 

The only mar was the fact Korea didn’t score while Cha was on.  Han Kyo-Won, who was subpar most of the match, was played in by Ki towards the end of the half but cut down by the charging Kiwi goalkeeper. Penalty kick awarded and Son Heung-Min took the PK, but the keeper read his thoughts and blocked the shot low to the left [update: reports indicate PK was offered for Cha to take. He refused and Son ended up taking it. I haven’t seen him take too many PK’s. Should Ki be the designated PK taker? Questions to ponder another time].  Ji Dong Won’s header moments later looked on it’s way in, but the Kiwi keeper was on fire and somehow kept it out of the net.  Missed opportunities in the first half prevented Cha from leaving with a lead. Ever the encouraging presence, he was gracious and humble in his speech to the Seoul World Cup crowd at halftime. For the 14 years of service, thank you Cha Du-Ri.

 

Last note, a win was expected, but this was quite an unconvincing one at that.  Credit a young New Zealand squad, they look to be on the ups -and not just in Oceania. For the surrounding Asian region, improvements in competition is good news.  For now, a work in progress as Uli Stielike continues to revamp Team Korea.  From the looks of it, a lot of work needed.

On a side note, Japan thrashed Uzbekistan 5-1.  Is that the same Uzbek lineup that Korea faced last Friday in their 1-1 draw?  Good result for the Blue Samurais, questions for team Korea in terms of clinical finishing, among other things they need improvement on…

About Roy Ghim 454 Articles
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7 Comments

  1. Bloody awful game to watch. In the two friendlies, they played well for exactly 35 mins. Anyways, on this game…

    NTH – Horrible. He was dispossessed the whole game & his passes were behind/misplaced or flat out to NZ players.

    KJY – Horrible. Struggled against Chris Wood & his distribution/passes were awful. He either booted the ball or passed it straight back to NZ players.

    KYG – I love his distribution. Talented/skilled defender but again, he had his “stupid moment” in 1st half. Beaten over the top by simple long ball… he was lucky ref called foul on Wood (of which, I didn’t think it was).

    KJH – Mixed. He too was “stupid” when he came out & his late challenge on Wood was dangerous. Had ref didn’t call foul on Wood against KYG & had Wood gone down, that would have been red card on KJH. Also, he had 2 or 3 sloppy passes from the back..

    HKY – Player I’m going to defend (he is often blamed for everything). Known for “sliding tackles” & often gets criticized as that’s all ppl think he does. If you watch the game & focus on him, in the two games.. he did it for about 2 or 3 times. He constantly won the ball back, cut off passes & it was his pressing in NZ half that led to LJS’s goal in 2nd half. Excluding his one late (and nasty) retaliation/foul in 1st half & few misplaced passes, he did his job.

    Ji & Son – both struggled.

    PJH, Ki, HKW – did their jobs. Ki played well… HKW is limited player he works hard.

    KCS – Meh. It’s time to test out other RBs.

    KTH – settled the defense & dealt with Chris Wood in 2nd half

    LJS, Kimbo, and Koo – The only positives from the two friendlies. They played well together as a trio.

    • Rumor has it NTH is supposed to be tricky with the ball. My eyes must be deceiving me. He’s weak as shit and doesn’t have the skills to become a good No.10 in the International level. Bottom table Ligue 1 reject.

      Ji this guy won’t have a career in Europe soon. He’s a CF but doesn’t know how to score. His last goal for the KNT was in 2011.

      • Also what a disappointment Son has been. Aside from his shooting his ability to dribble the ball has diminished. Not good for a Forward Winger.

          • True, but Messi’s club performance in Champions League & La Liga record is way better than his national team’s record in the World Cup… Son obviously has a much better supporting cast in Bayer 04 and I feel more entertained watching him in Bundesliga… Watching him play for Korea makes me want to tear my hair out & punch someone in the face at the same time…….. Oh, and I’m a Arsenal fan too, so you can see how fucking frustrated I am with everything……..

        • When it comes to Son, he gets a small break from me. His performance for KNT has been below par but because he is the star of the team, too much is expected of him (and he himself has put too much pressure on his shoulder). Son isn’t a leader yet but that’s what everyone is expecting… and perhaps more.

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