With qualification to the 2026 World Cup secured, South Korea (and Japan) take on USA and Mexico in the US. Our first match on 9/6 is against the USA in New Jersey; our second match 9/9 is against Mexico. For many of the Tavern readers (who are mostly US based), this will be a prime opportunity to see the team we love in person. For Hong Myung Bo, under pressure for poor performances and constantly stirring up controversy unnecessarily (more on that later), it’s now or never to justify his place as the NT coach and judge our standing against World Cup quality opposition, not Asian minnows. If we lose both matches, which is honestly very possible if not likely, you be the HMB out voices will come out in full force. As the old KFA veterans used to say, the most dangerous time for the KNT head coach job security is now – right after qualifying.
The squad (posted my knee jerk initial reactions here)
Injuries and issues with playing time for club will prevent us from playing at our best. Our top CM Hwang In Beom is injured. So is Cho Yu Min and Kwon Kyung Won, both of whom are starting CBs who have partnered Kim Min Jae in the past. Several other European based players like Hwang Hee Chan, Kwon Hyeok Kyu, and Yang Hyun Jun were not called up; Hwang due to not being on form for club (though just days after the roster was announced, he finally scored his first goal in a long time – knowing him a scoring streak is incoming); Yang and Kwon who knows why. Then there’s our two star players in Europe, Lee Kang In and Kim Min Jae, both of whom are riding the bench for PSG and Bayern. Though on Kim Min Jae’s end it could be a good thing because he had to play every game last season while injured (so he really needs the rest) and also because as I’ve predicted numerous times on the Tavern, Jonathan Tah is struggling under Kompany’s tactics.
More bad news before getting to anything positive – the HMB favorite but fan-hated, aging, and error prone Park Yong Woo keeps getting called up, almost certain to retain his role as our starting defensive midfielder (please save us Kwon Hyeok Kyu). In the absence of Hwang In Beom we have Paik Seung Ho, Castrop, and Kim Jin Kyu – different players who offer different strengths and weaknesses, but all untested on the KNT stage save for PSH.
One major reason for excitement this round of friendlies outside of the geographic location is Jens Castrop. We’ve covered him frequently on the Tavern since his recent national allegiance switch to South Korea, and he seems to be integrating into the team well despite his limited Korean skills. I’m almost certain he won’t start given how new he is, but he offers something very different. And maybe under high pressing teams like USA and Mexico, Jens could really thrive. Because as we painfully know, Hwang In Beom, Lee Jae Sung, and especially Park Yong Woo easily crumble under pressure.
The lineup
I hate that this is the case, but HMB as always will likely stick to his old favorites, the ones who are favored because they know his style of play, not because they’re our best players.
Assuming we go the usual 4-2-3-1:
In the backline I expect Lee Myung Jae – Kim Min Jae – Kim Ju Sung – Seol Young Woo. Lee Tae Seok may get the LB spot as LMJ was out of form and not playing for club the past few international breaks, but now he is back and it’s safe to bet HMB goes for his old Ulsan favorite. I personally think Lee Han Beom, starting CB for Midtjylland, should play over Kim Ju Sung who reportedly turned down European offers to go to Japan of all places, but HMB seems to not rate Lee Han Beom so what can I (a mere fan) say.
In the midfield Park Yong Woo is a lock, although pretty much anyone who watches Korean football would likely tell you Park Jin Seop is the better pick. The Jeonbuk midfield trio of PJS, Kang Sang Yoon, and Kim Jin Kyu has been unstoppable in the K League this season, contributing to Jeonbuk essentially having won the title almost 20 points clear of 2nd placed Gimcheon Sangmu. Perhaps an even better pick is Kwon Hyeok Kyu, the FC Nantes DM who put up a star performance vs PSG last month.
Now who will partner Park Yong Woo is the question. Paik Seung Ho is enjoying his second incredible POTY winning season with Birmingham FC and has been a reliable off-the-bench squad player in the NT setup for years now. I’d guess he gets the start on this one. However, he has been playing closer to DM at Birmingham (our best comparison is probably Ki Sung Yong) and may have a bit of overlap with PYW. Kim Jin Kyu has had a solid season at Jeonbuk but I would think he should play alongside Park Jin Seob, not PYW. Then there is Jens, who is so new that he probably won’t start. But given all the media hype around him, as well as the lengths HMB went through to secure his allegiance to Korea… he will probably get minutes for sure.
In the 2nd line it’s pretty clear we’ll see the usual Son Heung Min – Lee Jae Sung – Lee Kang In line. For once, no explanation needed.
Up top we can probably expect an off-form-for-club Oh Se Hun, because HMB specifically likes the tall target man type despite Oh Hyeon Gyu being on fire over in Belgium. Sigh…
If we go three-back as HMB as keeps talking about in the media:
I’m not a proponent of a back 3 because 1) we suck at it and 2) most of our players play for a back 4 at the club level. It failed miserably during the EAFF vs Japan, though maybe it’ll work better with our European players involved this time? If there’s any benefit to a back 3 from the outset, it would be the exclusion of Park Yong Woo who becomes redundant. HMB is all about a back 3 in offense/possession regardless of what the starting XI is in theory, and he likes PYW because he can act as the makeshift CB when the fullbacks push up. If a third CB is in the picture and Kim Min Jae has that libero role HMB thrived in as a player… PYW becomes irrelevant and we can field a central midfield of Paik Seung Ho and Jens Castrop, which would be really cool. The CBs would likely be Kim Ju Sung, Kim Min Jae, Lee Han Beom. I seriously hope HMB chooses LHB over the other CBs, who are both new to the KNT. Our LB is still a weak spot though. Is Lee Tae Seok / Lee Myung Jae enough? Or would Jeong Sang Bin be instructed to go LWB? The RWB would obviously be SYW, and the top three would probably be LJS – SHM – LKI. Unless he wants SHM – OHG – LKI? Either way, this feels a bit TOO experimental for me to start with outright.
Pre-match controversy
Hong Myung Bo keeps stirring up needless controversy in the media by bringing up the question of captaincy change. In this team Son Heung Min is the undisputed captain and leader right now. Everyone accepts this and the players accept it. Why rock the boat even suggesting the possibility of switching captains? No one will appreciate this, it’s doing harm to the locker room… somehow instead of dodging the question or firmly affirming Son as the captain, he keeps saying “maybe Son keeps the armband, maybe he doesn’t.” Truly unnecessary talk.
He also keeps saying things like “we played well” after major disappointing draws or losses which is not being received well in the public either. 25 years ago ish HMB stated that he would throw himself in the ocean if the side he captained loses to Japan. Now, he loses to Japan in a very one sided 1-0 in the EAFF and says “we played well.” Oh how far we’ve fallen…
The opposition
I admittedly don’t follow Mexico and the USMNT enough to comment on how they’ve fared, outside of a few headlines and facts I’ve seen/know.
On the USMNT side it seems Pochettino has not had the greatest start? And looking at their roster it seems that like us, some of their best European players weren’t called up. Perhaps due to poor performances? Or a bit of a falling out between the European contingent and the domestic contigent which I’ve also read about? Almost 2013-Korea esque with the falling out between Ki and Choi Kang Hee? That being said if Pochettino sets up the US like he set up Spurs back in the day (super offensive, fullbacks high, intense pressing) we are not gonna have a good time. Our midfield, Park Yong Woo especially, will not have a good time.
While I think we could potentially beat the US (they are in a rut kind of like we are it seems – this game could go either way I feel), neither us nor Japan will have a good time against Mexico, a team that has had a really good record against Korea and Japan, both historically and recently. I am not seeing any dramatic headlines about Mexico.. which is probably for the better? I am not the person to comment on how stable their NT setup is.
Also: shoutout to Kevin Kim for arranging a tailgate just before the game! And thank you Roy for promoting it! This will be a great opportunity for community building amongst us KNT fans.
As this is the first time the KNT has played in the States for a while, I know for a fact that many of my KNT supporting friends, and likely many of you reading the Tavern, will be at the game. To me there’s extra significance as my first ever KNT match. Hopefully they can gift me and our great nation a win.. but that hope is probably just that. We don’t have our act together yet, but maybe this round of friendlies will help us get there.
I’ve somewhat followed USMNT. I think Poch is trying his best to lift his team but the overwhelming mood is one of a mini-crisis of team confidence. It’s fairly low, as the results in the last 12 months show. There’s several reasons but not to get into the weeds, with Pulsic back and rested over the summer, he could be an X factor for team USA. That said, momentum counts for a lot, and while Korea had some wobbles, the way they finished WC qualification with confidence that they have enough quality to paper over the cracks, I’m going on a limb to predict a Korea win and more headaches for Poch.