Hwang Hee-chan is back, will Son Heung-min appear as a frontline striker in the Saudi Arabian game?

At 1 a.m. on the 31st, in the round of 16 group stage against Saudi Arabia, Cho Kyu-sung and Oh Hyun-gyu will be appointed as the front line, and
with the return of Hwang Hee-chan, Son Heung-min will be on the side → top possibility.

There is interest in whether coach Jurgen Klinsmann (Germany), who leads the Korean national soccer team, will make a change by appointing Son Heung-min (Tottenham) at the front line instead of Cho Kyu-sung (Midtjylland) and Oh Hyun-gyu (Celtic), who did not score in the round of 16 against Saudi Arabia.

Klinsmann will play the round of 16 of the ‘2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup’ against Saudi Arabia at the Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan, Qatar, at 1 am on the 31st.

Korea is aiming for its first win in 64 years since the 2nd tournament in 1960. Son Heung-min, Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich), Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain), etc. have a decent performance matching the goal, and were evaluated as strong candidates for the championship along with Japan.

However, they performed poorly in the group stage. They went undefeated with 1 win, 2 draws (5 points), but advanced to the round of 16 as 2nd place in their group instead of 1st place in their group.

The process was not smooth either. In the first game against Bahrain on the 15th, they won 3–1, but it was a game won not by organizational skills, but by Lee Kang-in’s individual ability, who scored multiple goals.

In the subsequent match against Jordan on the 20th (2–2 draw) and against Malaysia on the 25th (3–3 draw), the team was dragged by a weaker opponent and only scored 1 point. Due to performance and results below expectations, they are not receiving full support from fans. Nevertheless, Coach Klinsmann was still confident of winning.

He said, “It is important to meet Saudi Arabia quickly, get good results, advance to the next round, and move forward that way.”

He also hinted at the change, saying, “It will be a different aspect from the group stage.” It suggested the possibility of approaching the tournament with different strategies and tactics from the group stage.

It appears that there will be no major changes in the defensive line or midfield. As available resources are limited and back three tactics have not been separately trained, it is expected that the existing back four will be used.

There is expected to be some change with Kim Jin-soo (Jeonbuk Hyundai) returning to the starting lineup after recovering from injury.

The position where we can expect the biggest difference is the offensive line. Coach Klinsmann selected Cho Kyu-seong as the starter for the last three group stage games. And they maintained their choice to use Oh Hyun-gyu as a substitute in the second half. He has used similar types of players who are good at making post plays.

With the recovery of Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton), who was excluded from the first and second games due to injury along with Kim Jin-soo, the option to place Son Heung-min at the front line was added.

Son Heung-min plays as a winger for the national team and his team, but he boasts destructive power even when playing at the forefront.

As a result, it was possible to appoint Son Heung-min at the front line, Hwang Hee-chan, Lee Jae-seong (Mainz), and Lee Kang-in in the second line simultaneously. This is a strategy to use all of Korea’s best players active in the European big leagues.
There is a possibility that Coach Klinsmann will not make any changes. In the case of Cho Gyu-seong, he scored the winning goal in a friendly match against Saudi Arabia (1–0 win) in September last year. A striker with good memories could also be hired.

In fact, Coach Klinsmann said, “We played against Saudi Arabia once last September. “He has good memories and is thinking positively,” he said.

Much attention is being paid to what kind of striker Coach Klinsmann will achieve and what results he will achieve. 토토