The heat of ‘El Volcan’ encountered on the way to the round of 32, the…
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The excitement of ‘El Volcan’ encountered on the way to the round of 32, the light and dark side of Hong Myung-boho as pointed out by Park Ji-sung
Written on: June 24, 2026 | Column by current affairs critic specializing in IT/media
Under the hot sun of the 2026 North and Central America World Cup, the Korean national soccer team is approaching a fateful showdown. The final group match against South Africa, which will be held at a stadium called ‘El Volcan (Volcano)’ in Monterrey, Mexico, is more than just one game, it is the final gateway to our national team’s grand goal of advancing to the round of 32. What is hotter than the local heat wave, which approaches 40 degrees Celsius, is the players' solemn determination for the round of 16. At this critical juncture, the realistic advice and sharp analysis that Park Ji-sung, the eternal captain of Korean soccer, visited the training ground and delivered to his juniors clearly reflects the tactical tasks currently facing Hong Myung-bo and the future direction.
The most key issue pointed out by Commissioner Park Ji-sung is the tactical dilemma regarding how to use Captain Son Heung-min. The situation in which Son Heung-min was replaced early in the second game against Mexico without recording a single shot became a hot topic of debate not only among fans but also experts. Commissioner Park found that the reason Son Heung-min was isolated from the front was the lack of pass connection and failure to create space. Son Heung-min is a striker with world-class finishing ability, but his cool-headed analysis is that for him to demonstrate his ability, organic passing work and space distribution at the team level must come first. The current method of blindly repeating forward penetration and only exhausting stamina is inefficient, and a clever attack design that can maximize Son Heung-min's decision-making power is desperately needed.
Regarding the controversy over Son Heung-min's early replacement, Commissioner Park Ji-sung acknowledged that it was the coach's sole authority, but did not hide his disappointment with the result. If the replacement card had been successful, he would have become a great coach, but it is the fate of a coach that he cannot avoid criticism in the face of defeat. This part shows the cold reality of the soccer world and represents the weight carried by coach Hong Myung-bo. Meanwhile, Commissioner Park Ji-sung's personal daily life also became a hot topic during this World Cup. The image of Park Ji-sung, a father raising children, revealed by his wife Kim Min-ji, showed how warm a family man he is off the field. This human aspect, along with his sharp perspective as a commentator on the field, proves that he is still pointing the right direction at the center of Korean soccer.
Committee member Park Ji-sung singled out the stability of defense as the deciding factor for the game against South Africa. He singled out Kim Min-jae as the team's key player and emphasized that a scoreless game was the only way to secure the team's ability to advance to the round of 32. South Africa is a team with quick side attacks and active overlapping of the fullbacks, so how effectively our defense controls the space behind them will determine victory or defeat. In particular, South Africa has the weakness of making frequent mistakes when under pressure during the build-up process. It appears that the key strategy of this game will be the speed of transition in which our national team can induce mistakes from the opponent through strong forward pressure and quickly turn them into counterattacks.
Despite the adverse conditions of heat and humidity, the national team completed perfect preparation with all 28 members participating in training and no injuries. The strategy of skipping the official turf acclimatization session and focusing on recovery appears to have originated from a careful calculation by the coaches, who had already figured out the condition of the turf at Monterrey Stadium. There is a heavy tension and a sense of solemnity for victory within the team. The encouragement given by legends such as Park Ji-sung and Lee Young-pyo to the training ground must have been a great psychological support to the players. In the end, soccer is a process of playing the game according to preparation, and it is more important than anything to demonstrate unwavering concentration based on the confidence that we have a power advantage over our opponents.
■ Conclusion and analysis outlook
Hong Myeong-Boho now has to prove his worth in the flames of ‘El Volcan’. If we can achieve defensive stability and offensive efficiency at the same time as Commissioner Park Ji-sung advises, the game against South Africa is a game we can easily win. If space is created to utilize Son Heung-min's talent and the defensive wall centered around Kim Min-jae holds firm, the dream of advancing to the round of 32 will become a reality. We look forward to the final performance of the coach, who takes full responsibility for the results, and the players who trust and follow him as one. I sincerely hope that this match will go beyond a simple victory and become an opportunity for Korean soccer to take another leap forward.
* This post is a commentary by PlayBBS that analyzed real-time Google Trends popular search terms and related major articles.
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