76% possession rate in the first half, 92% pass success rate… Increased diversification of attack patterns
Commissioner Han Jun-hee “Everything goes well in the first half… I was embarrassed by the opponent’s pressure in the second half.”
(Kuwait City (Kuwait) = Newsis) Reporter Younghwan Lee = The second half of the match between Korea and Kuwait in the 5th match of Group B of the 2026 FIFA North and Central America World Cup Asia 3rd qualifier held at the Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium in Kuwait on the afternoon of the 14th (local time). , South Korean coach Hong Myung-bo is giving operational instructions. 2024.11.15. (email protected)
(Seoul = Newsis) Reporter Ahn Kyung-nam = Hong Myung-boho calmed the sandstorm in Kuwait with his best performance since his launch and won 4 consecutive World Cup qualifiers.
However, when the opponent increased the pressure in the second half, they were embarrassed and even conceded a goal, which remained a mistake.
The Korean national soccer team, led by coach Hong Myung-bo, lost 3-3 to Kuwait in the 5th match of Group B of the 2026 FIFA North and Central America World Cup Asia 3rd qualifying round held at the Jaber Al-Ahmed International Stadium in Kuwait City, Kuwait on the 14th (local time). 1 Won a complete victory.
Starting with Oh Se-hoon (Machida)’s first goal, and consecutive goals by Son Heung-min (Tottenham) and Bae Jun-ho (Stoke City), they defeated Kuwait, who had only one goal.
In the 3rd preliminary round, where the 1st and 2nd place in each group advance directly to the World Cup finals, Korea was in the lead after going undefeated in 5 consecutive games (4 wins, 1 draw, 13 points), including 4 wins in a row.
(Kuwait City (Kuwait) = Newsis) Reporter Younghwan Lee = First half of the match between Korea and Kuwait in the 5th match of Group B of the 2026 FIFA North and Central America World Cup Asia 3rd qualifying round held at the Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium in Kuwait on the afternoon of the 14th (local time). , South Korea’s Son Heung-min is happy with Lee Jae-seong after successfully scoring a penalty kick. 2024.11.14. (email protected)
The idea that it would take time to adapt to the difficult environment of the Middle East expedition was completely wrong.
Hong Myung-boho pushed the home team Kuwait hard at the kickoff whistle. On the well-maintained grass in cool weather, the Korean players flew around like fish in water.
Korea opened with Oh Se-hoon’s header 10 minutes into the first half, and 9 minutes later, Son Heung-min kicked a penalty kick to make the score 2-0 before even 20 minutes had passed.
The third qualifying round of this World Cup began, and it was the best start.
(Kuwait City (Kuwait) = Newsis) Reporter Younghwan Lee = First half of the match between Korea and Kuwait in the 5th match of Group B of the 2026 FIFA North and Central America World Cup Asia 3rd qualifying round held at the Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium in Kuwait on the afternoon of the 14th (local time). , Korea’s Hwang In-beom is passing. 2024.11.14. (email protected)
In fact, Korea’s performance in the first half numerically surpassed that of Kuwait. Based on a high possession rate of 76%, they boasted a whopping 92% pass success rate.
Considering that Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain), Lee Jae-seong (Mainz), and Hwang In-beom (Feyenoord) enjoyed bold forward passes, it can be said that the accuracy of their passes was quite high.
This was possible because the distance between players was kept very constant. Lee Jae-seong went back and forth, and right winger Lee Kang-in often came into the center. Also, Hwang In-beom did not discriminate between right and left.
The scene where Lee Jae-sung attempted a header in front of the goal and Hwang In-beom cut to the left side, received Son Heung-min’s pass and crossed, shows how diverse Korea’s attack pattern was on this day.
(Kuwait City (Kuwait) = Newsis) Reporter Younghwan Lee = The second half of the match between Korea and Kuwait in the 5th match of Group B of the 2026 FIFA North and Central America World Cup Asia 3rd qualifier held at the Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium in Kuwait on the afternoon of the 14th (local time). , Jaeseong Lee of Korea is making a pass. 2024.11.14. (email protected)
The build-up was very stable in the first half. The passes from the last row to the front through Park Yong-woo (Al Ain) or Hwang In-beom were very quick and concise.
Commentator Han Jun-hee said, “In the first half, the side and center, short passes, long passes, left and right transitions, and organic linkages were all evenly distributed. There was a lack of pressure from the opponent, but there was a movement of players creating passing options when the opponent was pressing.” “It was good, and the passes were made calmly and well, ensuring stability in the build-up,” he said.
He added, “Individually, the form of each player was so good that almost no player was bad in the first half,” and “Players like Cho Yu-min (Sharjah) and Park Yong-woo played their part, which also contributed to the improvement of the entire team.”
If the first half of the game was the best since Hong Myung-bo took office, the second half was somewhat disappointing.
(Kuwait City (Kuwait) = Newsis) Reporter Younghwan Lee = First half of the match between Korea and Kuwait in the 5th match of Group B of the 2026 FIFA North and Central America World Cup Asia 3rd qualifying round held at the Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium in Kuwait on the afternoon of the 14th (local time). , Korea Lee Kang-in is passing. 2024.11.14. (email protected)
With a 2-0 lead, the players became complacent in the second half and lost concentration, ultimately giving up an easy make-up goal to Kuwait in the process.
Coach Hong Myung-bo also admitted, “The performance aspects of the first and second halves were not very different, but we conceded goals, so it can be said to be a little disappointing.”
As Kuwait increased the intensity of pressure compared to the first half, Korea’s build-up became more unstable than in the first half, and as a result, they started making mistakes.
Also, as we were unable to effectively establish a defensive position for the opponent’s counterattack, we missed the player who was running backwards. A representative example is the scene where a goal was conceded in the 15th minute of the second half.
The goal saved Korea, but missing the Kuwaiti striker in a set-piece situation at the end of the second half was one of the problems that Hong Myung-boho needed to improve in the future.
Commissioner Han Jun-hee said, “When the opponent tries to play a long ball, there are often cases where someone is missed,” and advised, “We need to protect the area while reducing the number of situations where the opponent’s movements are neglected.”
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