Jeonbuk, which changed 7 out of 11, almost broke the unbeaten record, drew 1-1 with Gangwon in the first round of the Korea Cup semifinals
Aug 20, 2025
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Jeonbuk and Gangwon drew 1-1 at Jeonju World Cup Stadium on the 20th. Jeonbuk, which has been undefeated (20 wins and 5 draws) in 25 consecutive games, including K League 1 (17 wins and 5 draws) and the Korea Cup (3 wins), won the first goal against Gangwon with a rotation that changed seven of the 11 starters, but ended up drawing in the midst of sluggish games, including several crises after allowing the tie. Gangwon, which won the K League 1 against Jeonbuk on March 9, succeeded in an away draw by showing equal performance, contrary to most evaluations of inferiority. The two teams will decide their way to the finals through the second round of the semifinals at Gangneung High1 Arena on the 27th.
Jeonbuk coach Gus Foye put Thiago on the front line and placed Lee Seung-woo and Jeon Jin-woo on the side. Kwon Chang-hoon, Lee Young-jae, and Park Jin-seop in the midfield, Choi Chul-soon, Kim Young-bin, Yeon Je-woon, and Kim Jung-hoon in the defense line, and Kim Jung-hoon in the goal. He chose a rotation to replace seven players from the starting list he used in K League 1. Gangwon coach Chung Kyung-ho placed Choi Byung-chan in the one-top position and set up Lee Sang-hun as a sagging striker. Koo Bon-cheol, Kim Dae-woo, Kim Kang-guk, Kim Do-hyun in the midfield, Bruno Park Ho-young, Cho Hyun-tae, Yoon Il-rok in the defensive line, and Lee Kwang-yeon in the goal.
Gangwon focused on blocking Jeonbuk's build-up with forward pressure. Jeonbuk has rarely taken the lead due to repeated mistakes, perhaps due to its lineup that has changed significantly. Pass misses, which are rarely seen in the league, also continued. Coach Foyet kept making gestures on the bench that seemed to be 'widening the gap', but nothing improved. In the cooling break received from the referee in the 25th minute of the first half, coach Foye gathered the players and showed his anger. In the 37th minute of the first half, Lee Seung-woo pushed a low cross from the right side of the gate after trapping from the left side of the gate, but it was not recognized as a score because a handball foul was declared during the trapping process. Gangwon aimed for the Jeonbuk goal with a counterattack, but it was far from a threatening scene. Both teams finished the first half scoreless.
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Change hit the mark. In the 2nd minute of the second half, Jeonbuk changed the direction of Kang Sang-yoon's left-footed cross from the right side of the gate to a header, and Kim Young-bin, who was rushing in front of the gate, pushed it with his head to get the first goal. 1-0.
After allowing the first goal, Gangwon sent out Kang Yoon-gu and Kim Shin-jin to make changes. Jeonbuk rarely took the lead even after scoring the first goal. In the end, when Kim Shin-jin slightly pushed Kang Yoon-gu's forward pass in front of the gate in the 16th minute of the second half, Koo Bon-cheol finished with a right-footed shot to tie the score 1-1.
In the 26th minute of the second half, Compagno Kim Jin-kyu and Choi Woo-jin appeared on the ground in place of Lee Seung-woo, Jeon Jin-woo and Kwon Chang-hoon. Since then, Jeonbuk has put Compagno and Thiago at the gate at the same time and put a double tower strategy that utilizes the left and right sides. However, while Gangwon lowered its defense, Jeonbuk failed to score a series of corner kick opportunities. Gangwon hit the ground in the 48th minute of the second half when Lee Ki-hyuk's left-footed shot in front of the arc deflected off Kim Jung-hoon's hand and bounced off the crossbar. In the end, both teams had no choice but to be satisfied with finishing the match with a draw.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.