The match ends 3-1. Overall, some very promising plays from Korea, but not enough communication in the midfield and in the final third. Our defense was lackluster as well. Today’s match will serve as a reality check for Uli Steilike. Anyhow, here are my personal player ratings for this match. Feel free to challenge them in the comments section below.
1. Kim Seung-Gyu (6) Could’ve done better with his position although he didn’t receive much backline support from his teammates.
2. Cha Du-Ri (7.5) The best performing player on the pitch. Showed lots of pace and energy.
3. Kim Joo-Young (5.5): Poor performance. Should have dealt with the second goal better.
4. Jang Hyun-Soo (6): Used as holding midfielder (again) for today’s match. Lacks technical mobility to support other players.
5. Kim Young-Gwon (6.5): Average performance in the backline, although there were times when Costa Rica fredded through the defense.
6. Kim Min-Woo (7): His shot should have went in. So close to scoring. Exactly what Korea needs.
7. Nam Tae-Hee (7): Made some nice runs to goal. Potential is there.
8. Ki Sung-Yueng (7.5): Solid team performance. Did his job well. Deserved a last minute goal.
9. Lee Chung-Yong (6): Definitely not the same performance we saw in the last match. Almost invisible.
10. Son Heung-Min (8): Had quite a game. Nice assist for LDG. Again, pressure from the fans might be getting to him?
11. Lee Dong-Gook (7): Really slowed the offense at times, but equalized for Korea just before the break. Tried harder in the second-half but not enough.
SUBS
1. Park Joo-Ho: Not enough time. Subbed off.
2. Han Kook-Young (6): No communication with his teammates. Couldn’t do much really.
3. Han Gyu-Won: Not enough time.
4. Lee Yong: Not enough time.
Uli Steillike (7): Won’t trash talk him. Our performance has improved since Brazil, and this was just a friendly. Any intelligent coach would use this game as a reference since all of our defensive and offensive problems were outlined. He definitely knows what needs to improve and what it will take for Korea.
stay tuned…
dafuq LCY had a great game imo, better than SHM
At least Son got an assist. LCY was bad in 1st half & he showed nice dribbles in 2nd half but bleh (way too inconsistent). Overall, neither had a great game to be fair.
Not a “dafuq” moment, but I did think LCY was like 6.5-material, but let’s not argue over .5’s here 🙂
Player ratings are the most unforgiving thing you can possibly do on this site imo
I don’t think LCY was very helpful. First half was awful.
3 things I wanna say.
First I agree LCY was invisible first half, but second half he kept the ball many times. Dribbles were definitely good, though without finish. He had to back way too deep and spend energy on saving the ball instead of on attacking… The solution lies in team, midfield.
SHM’s calls are not often answered as in Leverkusen because the offense is slowed somewhere along the way. I don’t believe his inefficacy comes from him only. Again, solution is team.
And finally, I was there in Seoul Worldcup Stadium… and I have to say, this public is not very warm. I exaggerate, but they mostly shout only when there’s a goal. Maybe because of the way too big stadium or because it was a cold night ? Don’t know but still…
To your last point, that’s cuz Koreans only care about the KNT when playing in a major competition or leading up to a major competition, which, to be fair, is better than their support of the K-League.