Zapopan: With precious little time left to train before his team's first match at this year's FIFA World Cup, South Korea head coach Hong Myung-bo said he will try to mold his squad into a more complete unit.
According to Yonhap News Agency, South Korea had their first training session in Mexico, where they will play all three Group A matches. The session took place on Saturday as part of a "Community Training Session" organized by FIFA, drawing hundreds of fans to Chivas Verde Valle in Zapopan, near Guadalajara.
The Taegeuk Warriors arrived in Mexico on Friday following about three weeks of altitude training in the U.S. state of Utah, where they also played two friendly matches. They are set to open the World Cup on Thursday at Estadio Guadalajara against Czechia, better known as the Czech Republic.
The initial training session on Saturday was not intense, with the real work scheduled to commence on Sunday. "After playing two matches, we analyzed our strengths and weaknesses," Hong said at a press conference held at the training facility. "The key is to polish up our strategies over the remaining days. And since weather conditions here are different than in Utah, we have to make adjustments in that aspect as well. There isn't enough time to do a lot of things, and so we have to focus on a few things."
South Korea demonstrated strong performances in their recent friendlies, defeating Trinidad and Tobago 5-0 and El Salvador 1-0, utilizing almost completely different starting lineups. When questioned about the timing of his lineup adjustments, Hong explained, "All of our players have an understanding of our model. We will settle on our combination and have intense training over the next three days."
Despite being ranked No. 25 in the latest FIFA rankings, and thus favored over 41st-ranked Czechia, Hong emphasized that the European side will present a significant challenge.