Tag: soccer

This is an absurd situation going on that hopefully does not impact the team’s preparations to play Mexico:

Korea’s national football team has effectively turned its back on parts of the domestic press just days before a World Cup showdown with Mexico, a rare and public rupture that exposes a deeper trust crisis between players and legacy media in a country where fans now fact‑check reporters in real time.

The rupture did not begin with tactics or results. It began with contempt, caught on a hot mic.

On June 7, during a light pretraining jog at the national team’s camp, two male Korean journalists mocked some of the players, including captain Son Heung‑min. The footage, laced with sneers about military service exemptions and leadership, later surfaced on the YouTube channel of the TV network JTBC — the local holder of broadcasting rights for this year’s World Cup — turning their backstage banter into public record.

The Korea Football Association (KFA) reportedly summoned the reporters two days later and issued a reprimand behind closed doors. No clear, immediate apology came from the journalists, and the rift widened even as the team beat the Czech Republic last Friday.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

Of all the stupid things to have a physical fight over, you would not thing going to play ping pong would be one of them:

Woes for South Korean men’s national soccer team continued as its members were found to have gotten into a physical fight with each other before the big match, and the country’s soccer governing body reportedly contemplating whether to request resignation of head coach Jurgen Klinsmann.

The Korea Football Association confirmed Wednesday earlier reports by UK media that the team captain Son Heung-min got into an altercation with midfielder Lee Kang-in ahead of the team’s semifinals match against Jordan in the Asian Cup 2023, resulting in Son dislocating his finger. The row occurred as the team captain tried to stop Lee and younger members of the team from going out to play ping-pong before the crucial match.

The Klinsmann talked things over with both players after the incident, but Son and other veterans reportedly asked the coach to remove Lee from the starting lineup. The coach did not agree and started Lee in the match, which ended in a disappointing 2-0 loss and another lost opportunity for the country to win an Asian Cup.

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link.

South Korea’s World Cup team is in a tough spot after losing to Ghana:

Korea’s World Cup hopes are hanging by a slender thread after a 3-2 defeat against Ghana in Qatar on Monday. With just one point from the first two games in Group H, Paulo Bento’s men are going to need a convincing win over Portugal on Friday and hope that other results are favorable.

While the game had excitement for the neutral, there was, ultimately, disappointment for the Taeguk Warriors who will be left to regret defensive mistakes and missed chances. Ghana took a two goal lead in the first half, but the Taeguk Warriors came roaring back with two goals in the space of three second half minutes from Cho Gue-sung who became the first Korean to score more than once in a World Cup game. More defensive issues helped the Africans retake the lead and, this time, they held onto it despite plenty of pressure from the Reds.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

North Korean football teams arrive in South Korea on Oct. 25, 2018, to compete in an international youth tournament. The North sent three teams to the 5th Ari Sports Cup, organized by the South-North Inter Korean Sports Association, that this year drew eight teams from six countries. (Yonhap)