South Korea’s “Traveling European Army”—Why Are Their Struggles in Warm-Up Matches?

This World Cup, South Korea’s official roster includes as many as seventeen Europe-based players, setting a new historical record. Son Heung-min, Kim Min-jae, Lee Kang-in, Hwang Hee-chan, Hwang In-beom… these names are well known in European leagues. Logically, with such a lineup, they should have more than enough to handle Czech Republic. So why are they struggling so much in their recent warm-up matches? They lost 0:4 to Côte d’Ivoire and 0:1 to Austria, and the performance was hard to watch. What is behind it?

I think there are mainly two problems. First, although there are many Europe-based players, many of them are not absolute starters for their clubs. Lee Kang-in has spent most of his time at Paris Saint-Germain as a substitute; Hwang Hee-chan at Wolves is also a rotational player; and Kim Min-jae’s playing time at Bayern has also been unstable recently. These players lack the rhythm of continuous matches, making it difficult to guarantee their form. Once they arrive at the national team, their coordination is unfamiliar, and it’s hard to play at the same level as they do at their clubs.

Second, South Korea’s tactical system is still being fine-tuned. After Hong Myung-bo returned for a second stint, he tried both a four-back and a three-back formation, but the players haven’t fully adapted yet. Especially in the coordination between the midfield and the front line, there are often moments when the timing of passing and running is off. Against Czech Republic, if South Korea still shows the same kind of form as in those warm-up matches, they will probably find it very difficult to win.

However, the official World Cup matches are completely different from warm-ups. Players’ focus and fighting spirit will improve by several levels. I believe leaders like Son Heung-min and Kim Min-jae will guide the whole team to put in an even better performance. Also, although Czech Republic is tough, they are not as refined in technical ability as South Korea. As long as South Korea can keep the ball under their control, reduce unnecessary long balls and mistakes, their chances of winning are still very high.

My advice is not to place too much emphasis on the results of warm-up matches. Many strong teams hold back their full strength in warm-ups, or they experiment with lineups. When the World Cup proper begins, South Korea will show their real capabilities. In this match against Czech Republic, I’m backing South Korea to at least avoid defeat—and they may even be able to edge a small win.

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