Who is responsible for the weaker 'Hong Myung-bo' at home
Who is responsible for the weaker 'Hong Myung-bo' at home
Blog Article
The joys and sorrows of soccer between Korea and Japan, "the rival of old age," were mixed. At the seventh and seventh home game of the third Asian qualifying round for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Korea tied Oman 1-1 on Tuesday, failing to secure three points. The team's plan to advance to the World Cup finals for the 11th consecutive time was also hampered by its two consecutive wins at home.
On the other hand, Japan won 2-0 against Bahrain on the same day, confirming its advance to the finals for the first time in the world except for the host country. While Japanese soccer coach Hajime Moriyasu had a "festival night," Korean coach Hong Myung-bo had a "night of anguish," saying, "We had the worst performance during the third qualifying round." What made the difference? While Japan is on a roll and openly shouting for its best performance in the World Cup history, Korea is facing the reality of not showing as much performance as expected even at home.
Hong's biggest problem is that he is showing weaker performance at home. The Korean national team, led by coach Hong Myung-bo, had three wins and one draw in away matches in the third qualifying round, but has only one win and two draws at home. In September last year, when Hong was returning to the national team, the team had a 0-0 draw with Palestine in the first round, and exposed its "weak jinx" of one win and two ties in three home matches until the seventh match.
Generally, a home game should have more advantage than an opponent team, but why is Hong Myung-bo facing an ironic situation in which the team plays a more difficult game at home? At the match against Oman held at Goyang Stadium, the team was unable to penetrate the opponent team's defense from the beginning, and eventually allowed a point to lose in the second half to lose the game. Korea has become the lone lead in Group B thanks to its performance in away matches. After recovering confidence by winning the second and third away matches in the Middle East with consecutive wins, it solidified its No. 1 ranking with four consecutive wins. If it had not secured consecutive wins against Oman (3-1) and Jordan (2-0) in away matches in the Middle East at the time, no one knows what situation would have unfolded.
The reason for Hong Myung-bo's sluggish home game is, above all, that he is not taking advantage of the home stadium at all. The Seoul World Cup Stadium, the representative home stadium of Korean soccer, was not used in the match against Oman due to grass management problems. The 8th home game against Jordan will also be played in Suwon on the 25th. In October last year, the team played in Yongin, not Seoul, and the national team has continued to be unstable in not being able to use a fixed home stadium.
If the national team moves around without using a single stadium, it will be impossible to judge the advantages and disadvantages of the home team. It is pointed out that the environment of the stadium was not at its best in this game held at Goyang Stadium. Home team players are familiar with the grass conditions, lighting, and climate of the stadium, so they can play more naturally. The away team needs time to adapt to this environment, and if the condition of the stadium is unfavorable to the away team, it is likely that the performance will deteriorate. However, if you move your home stadium, your home advantage disappears. The fact that Lee Kang-in, Baek Seung-ho, was injured in this game is not irrelevant at all. 토토사이트
Japan has maintained the best playing environment by constantly holding matches at Saitama Stadium. A stadium is an absolute factor that determines performance. It is also the first factor that determines the advantages and disadvantages of a home away game. Brazil, which is the world's strongest, is not able to display its performance when it travels to Bolivia due to its stadium environment. If the Brazilian soccer team plays in La Paz, a metropolis about 3,600 meters above sea level, the highest in the world, Brazilian soccer players cannot display their performance due to shortness of breath. On the contrary, since the Bolivian soccer team is their home stadium, the Bolivian soccer team can use its relatively superior physical strength.