S. Korean midfielder vows to minimize mistakes

유지호 / 2022-06-09 16:05:18

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▲ South Korean midfielder Hwang In-beom speaks during an online press conference in Suwon, some 35 kilometers south of Seoul, on June 9, 2022, the eve of South Korea's friendly football match against Paraguay, in this photo provided by the Korea Football Association. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

▲ Hwang In-beom of South Korea (L) and Tomas Alarcon of Chile battle for the ball during the countries' friendly football match at Daejeon World Cup Stadium in Daejeon, some 160 kilometers south of Seoul, on June 6, 2022. (Yonhap)

▲ Hwang In-beom of South Korea (C) battles Dani Alves of Brazil for the ball during the countries' friendly football match at Seoul World Cup Stadium in Seoul on June 2, 2022. (Yonhap)

football-player

S. Korean midfielder vows to minimize mistakes

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, June 9 (Yonhap) -- The usually reliable midfielder Hwang In-beom committed a rare gaffe against Brazil in a friendly match last week, which directly resulted in a goal during a 5-1 defeat for South Korea.

Taking the "glass half full" mindset on Thursday, the eve of South Korea's next friendly match against Paraguay, Hwang said he is at least glad he didn't make his mistake in a World Cup match.

"Against Brazil, I created some decent moments on offense, but I kept making small mistakes at the other end. I was in a bit of hurry all match," Hwang said at an online press conference from Suwon, some 35 kilometers south of Seoul, where South Korea will host Paraguay at 8 p.m. Friday. "Brazil's pressing was much stronger than other teams (that we had faced previously). And it was difficult to figure out the timing to apply our own pressure on them because those players were all in great position to receive passes."

Hwang's botched clearing attempt in his own zone allowed Philippe Coutinho to score Brazil's fourth goal in the rout. Hwang slammed his hands on the ground in obvious frustration.

"It was the kind of mistake that no national team player should ever commit," Hwang said. "If something like that happens in the World Cup, it will be devastating. I will try not to repeat those errors."

South Korea regrouped after that big loss to defeat Chile 2-0 four days later. Hwang said the national team's leadership group presented an important message for the rest of the squad to follow.

"Some of the veterans said every team suffers a big loss from time to time, and the key is how we can bounce back from it," Hwang said. "We were able to keep Chile off the board because we addressed some of the issues that emerged in the Brazil match. Hopefully, we will continue to improve and win the rest of the matches."

After Paraguay, South Korea will host Egypt in Seoul on Tuesday to wrap up their June international schedule.

(END)