Will 'Kim Do-hoon' Korea's soccer team solidify its position as Asia's top 3 against Singapore?
Will 'Kim Do-hoon' Korea's soccer team solidify its position as Asia's top 3 against Singapore?
Blog Article
The 'Kim Do-Hoon-Ho' Korean national soccer team will challenge Singapore to solidify its place in the top 3 in the FIFA
rankings in Asia.
The Korean national soccer team, led by interim coach Kim Do-hoon, will play its fifth match of Group C in the 2026
North and Central America World Cup Asian second round qualifiers against Singapore at the Singapore National Stadium
at 9 p.m. (Korean time) on the 6th.
Korea, with 3 wins and 1 draw (10 points) through the 4th match, is in first place in the group ahead of China (7 points),
Thailand (4 points), and Singapore (1 point).
Even if we draw in this match against Singapore, we will secure our spot in the third round of qualifying, regardless of the
result of the final 6th match against China.
Even if they lose to Singapore, if Thailand fails to earn any points, Korea will advance to the third round of qualifying.
In a situation where Korea's advancement to the third qualifying round is virtually certain, the reason why Korea must win
against Singapore is because it needs to manage its FIFA rankings in order to increase its chances of advancing to the
World Cup finals.
Korea (23rd) is third in the April Asia rankings with 1,563.99 points, following Japan (18th, 1,621.88 points) and Iran
(20th, 1,613.96 points). It is only 0.03 points ahead of Australia (24th, 1,563.93 points), which is in fourth place.
The seeding criteria for the third qualifying round group formation is the FIFA rankings in June.
Korea must maintain a FIFA ranking of 3rd among Asian countries to avoid being drawn into a group with 'tough rivals'
Japan and Iran in the third qualifying round, which will be divided into three groups.
Even before discussing early advancement to the third qualifying round and group formation, looking at the difference in
strength between 23rd ranked Korea and 155th ranked Singapore, it is a match that is 'unacceptable' to lose.
Since coach Jurgen Klinsmann stepped down earlier this year, taking responsibility for the team's elimination from the
quarterfinals of the 2023 Qatar Asian Cup and internal strife within the team, the national team has been playing A
matches under the caretaker 합법 system.
The Korea Football Association had planned to appoint a full-time coach ahead of the 5th and 6th matches of the 2nd
preliminary round, but when that became impossible, they temporarily entrusted the baton to Coach Kim.
It is true that there is absolutely no time to get used to the new managerial system, but that cannot be an excuse for defeat
or a draw.
Moreover, Coach Kim is well-versed in Singaporean football, having coached the prestigious Singapore Lion City Sailors
from 2021 to 2022.
He also personally coached key players of the Singapore national team, including naturalized striker Song Eui-young (Lion
City) of Korean descent.
The performance of the seven 'new faces' newly selected by Coach Kim will be a point of interest in this match.
A total of 7 players, including Oh Se-hoon (Machida Zelvia), Bae Jun-ho (Stoke City), Hwang Jae-won (Pohang), and Choi
Jun (Seoul), who have been active in age-group national teams, as well as Hwang In-jae (Pohang), Park Seung-wook
(Gimcheon), and Ha Chang-rae (Nagoya), who have no experience in national teams at any level, were selected for the
national team for the first time.
Particular attention is being paid to whether attacking midfielder Bae Jun-ho, who showed his best performance in the
English Championship (2nd division) last season, will be able to settle into the national team.
Kim Do-hoon completed his first local training session at Bishan Stadium on the evening of the 3rd, local time.
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