Coach Hong Myung-bo admitted that he wanted to keep Son Heung-min on the bench and only bring him on in the second half when the opponent's stamina waned. After the match, the coach expressed: "If only I had known the outcome beforehand, perhaps I would have made different choices."
Without Son Heung-min and with Lee Kang-in unable to fill the role of "orchestrator," South Korea 's attack became stiff, uninspired, and lacked the necessary sharpness in penetrating the opponent's penalty area.
On the other hand, this shows that South Korea is heavily reliant on Son Heung-min's ability to create game-changing moments; while the current generation lacks many attacking players capable of making a difference in crucial matches. Therefore, when Son Heung-min is not in good form or is absent from the squad, the "Taeguk Warriors'" playing style easily becomes stagnant. In this match, Son Heung-min's introduction at the start of the second half also did not yield any results as South Korea had already lost their rhythm.
The decision to bench Son also led to criticism from the South Korean media towards coach Hong Myung-bo, who argued that his bold gamble had ended in failure, while the replacement was deemed unsuitable.
After securing 3 points in their opening match, South Korea only needed 1 point from their remaining two games to qualify. However, with their cautious playing style, the South Korean team lost both matches and finished third in the group. Their chances of advancing became slim as they now placed their fate in the hands of others.
Source: https://baodanang.vn/khong-co-cho-cho-gia-nhu-3341881.html
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