Defenders eat, sleep and dream Uruguay with two days to go

Football

Published: 22 Nov. 2022, 15:18 Updated: 22 Nov. 2022, 15:23

Defenders eat, sleep and dream Uruguay with two days to go

Kwon Kyung-won speaks during a press conference before a training session at Al Egla Training Site 5 in Doha, Qatar on Monday. [NEWS1]

From left to right: Hwang In-beom, Hwang Hee-chan, Lee Kang-in, Kim Moon-hwan and Cho Yu-min train on bikes at the Al Egla Training Site 5 in Doha, Qatar on Monday. [YONHAP]

With Korea now just two days away from a crucial match against Uruguay, defenders Kwon Kyung-won and Cho Yu-min are hoping to get some World Cup experience down in Qatar.

Korea will be looking to give it their all in their first match, as a loss against Uruguay will make it extremely hard for Korea to stay in the tournament.

Korea is facing some serious competition as part of group H alongside Uruguay, Ghana and Portugal. With the two teams with the most points in each group advancing to the knockout stage, the easy answer for the top two picks are world No. 9 Portugal and No. 14 Uruguay.

That Korea faces a tough lineup at the World Cup doesn't come as a huge surprise — at world No. 28, Korea were always going to be pitted against two stronger teams — but Portugal and Uruguay both pose an especially difficult challenge, while scrappy world No. 61 Ghana shouldn't be underestimated.

Kwon, who spent a year with Seongnam FC before joining J League club Gamba Osaka in January, hopes that he may be able to make an impact in Korea’s expected uphill battle.

“Uruguay’s players are very skilled and play well,” said Kwon on Monday. “Son Heung-min does tell us some things about them, what they are especially good at and how they tend to pass the ball, those sorts of things.”

Understanding that Korea’s first match will greatly impact their chances at advancing in the World Cup, Kwon is thinking about ways to beat the strong team.

“I studied Luis Suarez a lot,” said Kwon. “He is a world class striker but also someone I will have to deal with the most. I’ve been thinking about him so much that he appeared in my dream and took a shot, but I managed to block it.”

Kwon has some experience playing in the Middle East as he played for Dubai club Al-Ahli from 2015 to 2017.

“When I used to play in Dubai, I noticed that players sometimes get confused when they suddenly hear people praying in the stands,” said Kwon. “I don’t know if that’s what will happen here but it could be something to keep in mind.”

Kwon is one of the nine defenders that were called up for the World Cup alongside Kim Min-jae of Napoli, Kim Young-kwon of Ulsan Hyundai, Cho Yu-min of K League 2 club Daejeon Hana Citizen, Kim Moon-hwan of Jeonbuk, Kim Jin-su of Jeonbuk, Kim Tae-hwan of Ulsan, Yoon Jong-kyu of FC Seoul and Hong Chul of Ulsan. Only Kim Young-kwon and Hong have been to the World Cup before.

Kwon narrowly missed out on the 2018 Russia World Cup, after being named to the 28-man preliminary squad but not making it in to the final 23. This is the first World Cup where coaches were allowed to name 26 players.

“I have been on the bench a lot for national team games,” said Kwon. “But I’ve never been comfortable on the bench. I always have to be ready. You never know when you are going to be called on, so as soon as the whistle blows, I concentrate on analyzing the players and what their strengths are. As a defender, I focus on the strikers, like which foot they use to shoot and how they dribble.”

Cho Yu-min speaks during a press conference before a training session at Al Egla Training Site 5 in Doha, Qatar on Monday. [NEWS1]

Alongside Kwon, Cho is also hoping to get a taste of the World Cup in Qatar for the first time in his career. Just before flying to Qatar, he tied the knot with K-pop singer Soyeon, a former member of the girl group T-Ara.

"I'm so grateful that I've achieved everything I've been aiming for this year,” said Cho on Monday. “Of course, I did put in a lot of effort. Now I want to achieve my personal goals and the team’s goals on the World Cup stage.”

Cho was likely a last-minute addition, replacing Park Ji-su who suffered an ankle injury and was stretchered off the pitch during Korea's last tune up match against Iceland on Nov. 11. Cho was substituted in for Park in the second half of that match. He is the only player that joins the national team roster from a second-tier club, although Daejeon Hana Citizen will be promoted to the first tier starting next season.

“The team's goal comes first,” said Cho. "I don't know what opportunities will come my way or when I will actually play but if I get even a minute, I will sacrifice for the team and play for the team. Personally, my biggest goal is to get on the field.”

Korea face Uruguay at Education City Stadium in Doha, Qatar at 4 p.m. on Thursday, or at 10 p.m. in Korea.

BY YUN SO-HYANG [yun.sohyang@joongang.co.kr]