Hwang Sun-hong’s Hangzhou Asian Games squad is set to take on Thailand.
South Korea will take on Thailand at 8:30 p.m. on Aug. 21 at the Jinhua Sports Center in Jinhua, China, in the second match of Group E of the Hangzhou Asian Games men’s soccer competition.
The match is important for Hwang Sun-hong. The tournament will feature the first and second-place teams from each of the six groups advancing to the round of 16. The four teams with the best three group finishes will also qualify for the round of 16. With a win over Thailand, Hwang Sun-hong will be able to secure a spot in the round of 16 early. Depending on the results of the Kuwait and Bahrain games, they could finish top of the group.굿모닝토토
The mood is good in South Korea right now. South Korea thrashed Kuwait 9-0 in their first Group E match at the Hangzhou Asian Games at the Jinhua Sports Center on Sept. 19. Jung Woo-young scored a hat trick and Cho Young-wook had a multi-goal performance. Uhm Won-sang, Baek Seung-ho, Park Jae-yong, and Ahn Jae-joon also found the back of the net.
Hwang Sun-hong, who played the first match on Sept. 19, will play in two days after a one-day break. There is a possibility that some players who played against Kuwait will be rested against Thailand. The Asian Games has a tight schedule, so it’s important to take care of fitness.
While it’s important to keep athletes fit, there is one example that Hwang should avoid. It was the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games. Kim Hak-bum led the Korean team to a 6-0 victory over Bahrain in the first round. In the next game against Malaysia, Kim went with a rotation.
The results were shocking. South Korea went down 1-2 in the second game against Malaysia after conceding two early goals. Luckily, South Korea won the gold medal, but as the second-place team in their group, they faced some tough opponents early in the tournament, including Iran and Uzbekistan. In particular, against Uzbekistan, they narrowly won 4-3 in a hard-fought match.
It is as important to win against Thailand as it is to manage the players’ physical fitness. If they get it wrong, they won’t get the result they want against Thailand and the entire tournament could be derailed. “We need more preparation and determination,” said Hwang Sun-hong. “A big win feels good, but we have to be careful. It can be a poison,” he said. It’s time for Hwang to make a wise decision.