National Team in Spotlight: Crucial World Cup Qualifiers Against Jordan and Iraq Amid Controversy

October 5th against Jordan and Iraq on the 15th in a two-game series in the third preliminary round.
Interest in producing results amid confusion such as investigations by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the National Assembly.

National team coach Hong Myung-bo and former power-building committee member Park Joo-ho attends the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee’s inquiry into upcoming issues regarding the Korea Football Association held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul on the 24th. 2024.09.24. Newsis national football team coach Hong Myung-bo, who drew the line by voluntarily resigning despite being questioned by the National Assembly, is taking his life on the line in the third round of Asian qualifiers for the North, Central and American FIFA World Cup. in October.

Director Hong appeared as a witness at the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee’s inquiry into upcoming issues at the National Assembly on the 24th and said, “I have no intention of resigning as a director because of (suspicion in the hiring process. ) issue.”

He said, “I don’t think there was any unfairness or preferential treatment. “

He said, “If my performance is not good, I will be sacked at some point and my role now is to make our team strong for the remaining time.

Coach Hong, who took charge of the national team in July amid controversy after former coach Jürgen Klinsmann was sacked earlier this year, got off to an easy start with one win and one draw in the first and second round of the third round of qualifications. The North Korea-America World Cup started in September.

After drawing 0-0 at home against Palestine, they won 3-1 away at Oman.

After that, Coach Hong, who had to spend time watching players from abroad among them, had to go to the National Assembly instead of the land and questions from the members of the Culture and the Sports to answer whether there was any unfairness in the process of selecting the head coach of the national team.

Although the suspicions against him have not been completely resolved, Coach Hong is preparing for the next qualifying rounds for the World Cup in October.

After announcing the national team roster on the 30th, players must be called up in early October to play an away game against Jordan on October 10th and a home game against Iraq on the 15th.

The 3rd and 4th matches of the Asia 3rd World Cup qualifiers against these two teams are expected to be a chance to advance to the finals.

In the third preliminary round, which is actually the last preliminary round, the first and second place players from each group advance directly to the World Cup finals. Korea is currently second out of 6 teams in Group B, having played 2 matches.

The match against Jordan and Iraq, who are expected to compete for the lead in the group in the third qualifying round, is perhaps the biggest obstacle towards the finals of the World Cup.

The results of this two-game series are also very important to Coach Hong.

If the team goes for a refreshing victory, the anger of the fans may subside a little, but if they are disappointed in terms of content and results, voices will inevitably grow calling for the dismissal of Coach Hong .

To make matters worse, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s mid-term inspection notice and government inspection are scheduled for October, when the 3rd and 4th rounds of the 3rd preliminary round will be held.

Director Hong also camped in Bae Su. In this inquiry by the National Assembly into pending cases, he appealed to be judged based on the findings.

Currently, Coach Hong will visit the K League, which will be held from the 27th to the 29th, to examine domestic players.

In addition, we plan to check the position of Son Heung-min (Tottenham), Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain), Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich), etc. from the head coach Joao Aroso and tactical coach Thiago Maia, who is from Portugal and has been overseeing players abroad in Europe.

In addition, we plan to analyze challenging teams such as Jordan and Iraq.

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