Korea 4-0 Moldova in final tune-up match before qualifiers resume

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Korea 4-0 Moldova in final tune-up match before qualifiers resume

Published: 22 Jan. 2022, 08:54

Paik Seung-ho dribbles past Virgiliu Postolachi of Moldova during a friendly at Mardan Sports Complex in Antalya, Turkey on Friday. [NEWS1]

The Korean men's football team beat Moldova 4-0 on Friday in the second of two international friendlies, making good use of the tune-up opportunity before qualifiers for the 2022 Qatar World Cup resume next week.

Though the Taeguk Warriors were missing international stars like Son Heung-min of Tottenham Hotspur, Hwang Hee-chan of Wolverhampton Wanderers, Hwang Ui-jo of Bordeaux, Lee Jae-sung of Mainz, Kim Min-jae of Fenerbahce and Hwang In-beom of Rubin Kazan, the K League and J League footballers took it upon themselves to pull off a decisive win for a second time in a row, following their big 5-1 victory against Iceland on Jan. 15.

On Friday, the 11 starting members were Kim Seung-gyu, Lee Yong, Kim Jin-su, Park Ji-su, Song Min-kyu, Paik Seung-ho, Cho Gue-sung, Kim Jin-gyu, Kim Gun-hee, Kim Young-gwon and Kwon Chang-hoon.

Kim Jin-gyu of Busan IPark opened the scoring in the 20th minute of the first half, with Paik of Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors scoring a penalty just 12 minutes later and national team regular and recent K League returnee Kwon of Gimcheon Sangmu picking up the third goal in the 48th minute.

Head coach Paulo Bento replaced four players in the 60th minute, bringing Cho Young-wook of FC Seoul, Lee Dong-jun and Kim Tae-hwan of Ulsan Hyundai and Hong Chul of Daegu FC on the pitch. Given the chance, Cho Young-wook was able to score his first-ever goal for the national team and Korea's fourth goal in injury time.

This 4-0 victory against Moldova comes as a good sign for Korea, especially with the stripped-back squad proving they can still work as a cohesive team, even if it was against a dramatically lowered ranked team. Moldova ranks at No. 181 in the FIFA rankings, while Korea is ranked at No. 33, the third highest-ranked Asian country.

In the first friendly against Iceland, it was Cho Gue-sung of Gimcheon Sangmu who opened the scoring in the 15th minute, bagging his first international goal in his fifth appearance for the national team. Kwon scored Korea's second goal in the 27th minute, and just two minutes later, Paik added a third. Kim scored the fourth goal, and, in the 86th minute, Eom Ji-seong of Gwangju FC slotted in Korea's fifth goal.

Cho, Paik, Kim and Eom Ji-seong of Gwangju FC all scored their first goals for the national team on Jan. 15, with two of them — Kim and Eom — making it onto the scoreboard in their debut with the senior squad.

Kim, Paik and Kwon have now scored in both friendlies and they will definitely have caught Bento's eye, as the two friendlies were not just a tune-up opportunity for the Korean national team but also a chance for players to prove their form before Bento decides who heads home and who travels to the Middle East for next week's World Cup qualifiers.

The match against Moldova was Korea's last tune-up opportunity ahead of the two World Cup qualifiers.

Korea will now go on to play two World Cup qualifiers, against Lebanon on Thursday and Syria on Feb. 1. Korea will then face the top team of the group, Iran, for the last time on March 24. Korea will play its last qualifier against the United Arab Emirates on March 29.

BY YUN SO-HYANG [[email protected]]