The National Soccer Team Convenes Tomorrow Amidst the Worst Chaos… Look Towards your Mouth Rather than your Toes
The Korean national soccer team stands in front of its fans amidst the worst chaos in history.
The national team, led by interim coach Hwang Seon-hong, was summoned to a hotel in Goyang, Gyeonggi-do on the afternoon of the 18th and held its first training at Goyang Stadium in preparation for the two-game series against Thailand, which will be held in the second round of the Asian qualifiers for the 2026 North and Central America World Cup. 바카라사이트
The first training is expected to be centered on K-League players, and overseas players such as Son Heung-min (Tottenham) and Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain) are expected to be able to start training on the 19th or 20th if they move on after playing the weekend game.
First, the national team will play the third round of the World Cup second qualifying round against Thailand at Seoul World Cup Stadium at 8 p.m. on the 21st.
Then, they will leave for Thailand on the 22nd and play the 4th game at Rajamangala Stadium in Bangkok at 9:30 pm on the 26th, Korean time.
It is the A-match call that attracts more attention than ever to the players' mouths.
This is because the national team is going through severe storms due to various incidents and scandals such as ‘Table Tennis Gate' and ‘Card Gate', so there is great interest in what the players will explain about it.
The national team was eliminated in the semifinals after a poor performance at the 2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Qatar Asian Cup, which ended earlier this year.
Afterwards, shocking news was reported that Lee Kang-in, who was revered as the ‘next-generation ace' of Korean soccer, had a ‘physical collision' with ‘captain' Son Heung-min while trying to play table tennis the day before the semi-finals.
The confusion seemed to have subsided as coach Jürgen Klinsmann was dismissed and U-23 national team coach Hwang Sun-hong temporarily took over as the head coach of the A national team.
However, this time, as ‘Cardgate' broke out, the national team was once again out of control.
It's shaking.
It was revealed that during the training camp held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) ahead of the Qatar Asian Cup, the Football Association staff and players played cards for money, even using casino chips, until late at night, and the disappointment towards the national team and the Football Association was high.
It got deeper.
The Football Association explains that the participant who lost the most only lost about 40,000 to 50,000 won, so it was only a ‘betting' level, but it does not completely resolve suspicions that ‘a large amount of gambling' was carried out on several occasions. .
Questions related to table tennis gate and card gate are expected to continue persistently at the meeting between players and reporters before and after training, at press conferences, and in the common reporting area (mixed zone) after the game.
The national team, which wants to quickly resolve the confusion, is reportedly preparing for Lee Kang-in, who was at the center of ‘Table Tennis Gate', to stand in front of reporters in some way.
Attention is being paid to what kind of words and play Lee Kang-in will use to ask for forgiveness from fans and pledge to make a new start.
Despite calls for a ‘boycott of the international match', tickets for the home game against Thailand were sold out, showing the fans' continued love for the Taegeuk Warriors.
Thailand is ranked 101st in the FIFA rankings, 79 places below Korea (22nd).
Although the objective power difference is not small, they are considered the most difficult team among Korea's second preliminary round opponents.
Thailand, the strongest team in Southeast Asia, is said to have become stronger since Japanese coach Masatada Ishii took over last year.
At the Qatar Asian Cup, they performed well, reaching the round of 16, and thanks to this, they raised their FIFA ranking by 12 places.
Korea has a significant lead over Thailand with a total record of 30 wins and 8 losses.
However, I remember being caught at an important juncture, such as losing in the quarterfinals of the 1998 Bangkok Asian Games.
