Milton keynes: South Korea head coach Hong Myung-bo acknowledged his team must improve as a whole for the upcoming FIFA World Cup, in light of a big loss to Ivory Coast in a friendly match in England on Saturday. South Korea gave up goals to four different players at Stadium MK in a 4-0 loss. Hong's team found the woodwork three times but did not generate other dangerous scoring chances.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Hong stated at his postmatch press conference that he understands fans' mounting concerns with the World Cup less than three months away. "We ran some experiments with different lineup combinations, and we have to be better," Hong added. "It would have been nice to get a win here and create some positive momentum. But I also think we can learn a lot from this match."
Despite several defensive breakdowns, Hong claimed he still saw "some positive elements" from his backline. He deployed three center backs and two wingbacks in his back-three formation, and those players had difficulty containing speedy and skilled Ivory Coast attackers, despite outnumbering them in the defensive zone.
Hong emphasized the importance of helping his defenders grow, mentioning that reverting to a back-four setup is not difficult, but the focus should be on finding ways to improve in the current situation. He noted that his wingbacks were often forced to play deep in their own zone due to Ivory Coast's pressing, limiting their ability to create counterattack opportunities.
The coach concluded by stressing the need for improvement in both offensive and defensive details, asserting that small adjustments can lead to significant differences in performance.