'Fresh off a winning streak' soccer team... 'Let's go for 5' against Palestine!
'Fresh off a winning streak' soccer team... 'Let's go for 5' against Palestine!
Blog Article
South Korea's quest to qualify for their 11th consecutive World Cup will continue as they look to extend their 'five-match winning streak in A-Match' against their final opponent of this year's A-Match, Palestine.
The South Korean national soccer team, coached by Hong Myung-bo, will take on Palestine at the Amman International Stadium in Amman, Jordan, at 11:00 p.m. KST on June 19 in the sixth match of Group B of the Asia-Pacific qualifying campaign for the 2026 FIFA World Cup North and Central America.
Coming off a 3-1 away victory over Kuwait in the fifth match of the third round of World Cup qualifying on Sept. 14, the national team will look to extend their winning streak to five matches in a row and complete a two-game sweep of Middle Eastern opponents in November when they host Palestine in their final A-Match of the year.
South Korea drew 0-0 with Palestine on Sept. 5 at the Seoul World Cup Stadium in the first match of Group B of the third Asian qualifying round of the World Cup, despite the presence of key European players such as Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain), Hwang In-beom (Feyenoord), 메이저사이트 Lee Jae-sung (Mainz), and Kim Min-jae (Munich), as well as captain Son Heung-min (Tottenham), the team was plagued by a lack of decisiveness.
The draw against Palestine, whose professional league is suspended due to the ongoing war between the militant Hamas and Israel in Gaza, and whose national team players are hardly available, was enough to bruise the Taeguk Warriors' pride.
In particular, Hong Myung-bo, who took over as head coach of the national team in July, had to deal with a poor reception from the fans as the team failed to dominate their opponents from the first game.
However, the team has since reeled off four consecutive wins in the second through fifth round of World Cup qualifiers to lead Group B of the North American qualifiers with 13 points (four wins and one draw), five points clear of second-place Jordan and third-place Iraq (both on eight points).
Facing Palestine for the first time in nearly two months, Hong Myung-bok will be hoping to build on their recent uptick in form.
The match against Palestine is the final game of a grueling two-game road trip in the Middle East and the conclusion of this year's A-Match schedule, so Hong Myung-bok will be looking to extend their five-game winning streak in A-Match with a convincing victory.
Palestine are ranked 100th in the FIFA rankings, which means that they are objectively worse than South Korea (22nd).
However, as the match is being played away from home, it will be important for South Korea to set the tone early with a quick goal and then neutralize the opposition with a flurry of goals, as they did against Kuwait on Sept. 14.
The team can also set a number of records against Palestine.
Son Heung-min, who tied Hwang Sun-hong of Daejeon Hana Citizens for second place on the all-time men's A-match goals list with his 50th career goal from the penalty spot in the fifth match of Group B of the third World Cup qualifying round against Kuwait, is poised to move into sole possession of second place with his trademark driving ability.
In addition, left wing Bae Joon-ho (Stoke City), who has developed into Son's heir apparent, will be looking to score in four consecutive A-Match matches.
The left winger, who has emerged as Son Heung-min's heir apparent, will be looking for his third consecutive A-Match point, having recorded back-to-back assists in the third and fourth games of the World Cup qualifiers against Jordan and Iraq before scoring the winner in the fifth against Kuwait.
In addition, Osehun (Machida Zelvia), who is leading the race for the top striker spot, will look to extend his goal streak to three games against Palestine after scoring against Iraq and Kuwait.
Meanwhile, Hong Myung-bo-bo will leave Kuwait on Sunday afternoon for Amman, Jordan, via a two-hour charter flight.