Coach Hong Myung-bo, who returned to Korea's national soccer team two months ago, also mentioned the "MIK Made in Korea Project," which the Korea Football Association recently brought up as a topic, in an interview with the FIFA website, saying that Korean soccer needs its own philosophy.
In addition, he was confident that South Korea would be the strongest in Asia at the 2026 North-China U.S. World Cup co-hosted by copyright, the U.S., and Mexico. Now, the FIFA rankings are lagging behind Japan and Iran, and although they were eliminated from the semifinals at the Qatar Asian Cup, which ended in February, they expressed their opinion that South Korean soccer would represent Asia on the World Cup stage.
According to an interview released by FIFA's website on the 21st, Hong said, "I am confident that we will continue to be the best team in Asia."
He also cited advancing to the World Cup finals in North Korea, China and the U.S. as his primary goal.
South Korea is Asia's leader who has qualified for the World Cup finals 10 times, from the 1986 Mexico World Cup to the 2022 Qatar World Cup. Furthermore, with the number of participants increasing from 32 to 48 starting from the 2026 North-China World Cup, the number of tickets for the finals in Asia has also increased from 4.5 to 8.33 sleep.
However, some predict that the Asian qualifying round for this year's World Cup will be more challenging than ever for Korea. The Asian Cup and the U-23 Asian Cup proved that the levelling of Asian soccer has accelerated in the first half of this year. Korea also had a hard time as it lost 0-2 to Jordan in the semifinals of the Asian Cup, and lost to Southeast Asia and Indonesia in the quarterfinals of the U-23 Asian Cup through a penalty shootout.
In the third Asian qualifying round for this World Cup, they will compete with Iraq, Jordan, Oman, Palestine, and Kuwait for two tickets to the finals. South Korea drew 0-0 at home against Palestine on the 5th, which was criticized for its team, but took a breather as it secured a 3-1 victory thanks to Son Heung-min's one-goal, two-help one-man show in the away match in Oman on the 10th. It has one win and one tie, and is ranking second in Group B after trailing Jordan in multiple points.
Coach Hong, who fought against Asian countries through the final qualifying round for the London Olympics more than a decade ago, is also wary of the third qualifying round.
Coach Hong said, "It is never easy to advance to the World Cup finals, given that away games in the Middle East are always tricky."
However, he stressed that it is important not only to fall behind the global soccer trend but also to establish and maintain Korean soccer philosophy for the performance of the quarterfinals or higher of the away World Cup, which is the long-cherished dream of Korean soccer.
The context is similar to the MIK announced by Lee Im-saeng, technical director of the Korea Football Association, when Hong was appointed in July. Coach Hong said, "Football not only in Asia but also around the world is changing rapidly. It is important to keep pace with this change, but we also need to have our own football philosophy that encompasses technology, spirit and culture."
After the resignation of former national team coach Jurgen Klinsmann in February, the director presented "fast, courageous, and leading football" as the way for Korean soccer through meetings.
Coach Hong believes that good performance is possible when Korean philosophy is combined with the skills of players who are now showing off their skills in Europe.
"The competitiveness of the Korean team is sufficient around the world," he said in a FIFA interview, stressing, "We need to create an appropriate environment for players to perform their best based on their own soccer philosophy and culture rather than partial improvement."
South Korea is not as good as Japan, which has nearly 50 European players, including former and current representatives, but its core players play for world-class prestigious clubs and are considered to be second to none in Asia. Two offensive resources playing in the English Premier League, including Tottenham Hotspur striker Son Heung-min and Wolverhampton winger Hwang Hee-chan, Germany's most prestigious Bayern Munich center back Kim Min-jae, France's first-round Paris Saint-Germain PSG all-weather midfielder Lee Kang-in and Feyenoord midfielder Hwang In-beom, one of the three strong teams in the Netherlands, are key players that Korean soccer can confidently knock on the world's door.
However, many people said that they should bring in competent overseas coaches to maximize their capabilities, but with Hong's appointment, this is the reason why the national team is not receiving support from fans. Hong is determined to prove this and overcome it. For now, Taegeuk Warriors generally support Hong's leadership through the first and second rounds of the third qualifying round.
"The environment is not completely unfamiliar to me as I started coaching in the national team," said Hong, who took the helm of the national team for the first time in 10 years after the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. "Everything has changed compared to the past. All of them are taking on new challenges with the changed squad."
Hong also cheered for Ulsan HD, which he had taken the helm before joining the national team, to challenge for the FIFA Club World Cup next year. If he had not joined the national team, Hong would have been destined to lead Ulsan's club to the U.S. in May next year to lead the club.
Ulsan clubs can play against world-famous clubs such as Real Madrid, FC Barcelona Spain, Chelsea, Manchester City England, Bayern Munich, PSG, and River Plate Argentina depending on the results of the draw.
He received a lot of criticism from Ulsan fans when he suddenly came to the national team in July, but his affection for Ulsan remained. 바카라사이트 추천
"The Club World Cup is an opportunity to show the competitiveness of Korean soccer to the world," Hong said. "It was an honor to be the coach of a club that represents Asia. Our success is the result of both the players and the entire club," he said, giving credit to the club and its players.
Hong will announce the roster of the second team on October 30. Team Korea will have an away match against Jordan on October 10 in the third Asian qualifying round for the North-China-U.S. World Cup. He will then fly to Korea on a chartered plane and play the fourth Asian qualifying round against Iraq on October 15.