16년 만의 월드컵 첫 승, 홍명보호가 멕시코 고지대에서 쓴 짜릿한 역전 드라마 > 뉴스

The national team led by Coach Hong Myung-bo has equipped the three-back strategy, which it has honed over a year ahead of this tournament, as its core weapon. In particular, in order to overcome the special environment of high altitudes, we put a lot of effort into local adaptation training at the host site, and prepared thorough preparations such as holding evaluation matches in areas similar to the high altitude environment even before the announcement of the final list. On the other hand, the Czech Republic, which joined late through the European playoffs, showed a contrast to us by playing the game without any training to adapt to altitude. It was predicted that the match against the Czech Republic would literally be a 'fight against variables' due to the ever-changing local weather on the day of the game and unexpected weather variables. However, Coach Hong maximized his power through systematic condition management that took into account the individual differences of the players, which resulted in a physical advantage in the second half of the game.

Korea took the lead in the first half of the game, but the attackers' shots, led by Son Heung-min, missed the goal and were hardly fruitful. Starting with Son Heung-min's shot after receiving Lee Jae-seong's pass in the 12th minute of the first half, there were a series of mid-range shots and headers, but the Czech defense and goalkeeper were strong. The tight balance of 0 was broken in an unexpected situation in the 14th minute of the second half. The Czech Republic took the lead when Ladislav Krejic headed Vladimir Koufal's long throw-in in a set piece situation. From Korea's perspective, they faced a painful situation by conceding only one effective shot, but rather, this conceding became a spark that stimulated the players' fighting spirit.

Coach Hong Myung-bo's replacement card after conceding a goal completely changed the flow of the game. In the 22nd minute of the second half, Hwang In-beom, who received Lee Kang-in's sharp lob pass, turned the situation around by scoring the tying goal with a sophisticated chip shot that beat the opposing defense and goalkeeper one by one. Building on the momentum, Coach Hong pulled the reins of the attack even further by replacing Son Heung-min and Lee Tae-seok and inserting Oh Hyun-gyu and Uhm Um-seong. This drastic change in tactics led to a comeback goal by Oh Hyun-gyu, assisted by Hwang In-beom, in the 35th minute of the second half. Oh Hyun-gyu's performance, scoring his debut goal in his World Cup debut, was a decisive scene that proved how effective Hong Myung-bo's customized substitution strategy was.

This victory is significant in that it is the first World Cup victory in 16 years since the 2010 World Cup in South Africa against Greece. Considering that in this tournament, which is played in a 48-nation system, only the third place in the group can advance to the knockout stage, winning the first game is an achievement equivalent to crossing the 5th division ridge to advance to the round of 32. In particular, the fact that they secured three points ahead of their group stage rivals Mexico and South Africa means they have an advantageous position to aim for first place in the group. Hwang In-beom's multiple attack points, Oh Hyun-gyu's winning goal, and Lee Kang-in's creative passwork are raising expectations for the upward trend that Korean soccer will show in the remaining group stage games.