Other members, like the U.S. match, have they established themselves as Plan A for Hong Myung-bo

Sep 10, 2025

Other members, like the U.S. match, have they established themselves as Plan A for Hong Myung-bo



Other members, like the U.S. match, have they established themselves as Plan A for Hong Myung-bo
'Three Back' is establishing itself as a'Plan A'.

South Korea's A national team, led by head coach Hong Myung-bo, will play a friendly match against Mexico at Geodyspark in Nashville, Tennessee on the 10th (Korea time). South Korea, which has confirmed its 11th consecutive World Cup qualification, switched to the 2026 North Korea-China World Cup mode. The starting point was an away trip to the United States, where the finals were held. He got off to a good start with a 2-0 win in a friendly match with the United States on the 7th. Son Heung-min scored one goal and one assist.

The second opponent was Mexico, ranked 13th in the FIFA rankings. He is the champion of North and Central America, two places above the United States and ten places above South Korea. Power is also power, but in fact, Mexico's home game atmosphere is expected, signaling a difficult game. Coach Hong said "I think we'll feel a lot of difficult away games because a lot of Mexicans are going to come. I think it will be a good experience"It will be a good opportunity to test our players against Kangho."




Hong's choice was a test. Compared to the match against the U.S., nine players have been changed. Son Heung-min (LAFC) and Cho Hyun-woo (Ulsan) sat on the bench. Oh Hyun-kyu (Henk) stood at the forefront, and Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain) and Bae Joon-ho (Stoke City) were placed as offensive midfielders. The midfield was formed by Jens Kastrov (Mönchengladbach) and Park Yong-woo (Al Ain). Daejeon Hana Citizen Duo and Lee Myung-jae and Kim Moon-hwan were on the left and right. The three-back was composed of Kim Tae-hyun (Kashima), Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munhan), and Lee Han-beom (Mit Willan). Kim Seung-gyu (FC Tokyo), who returned from injury, defended the goal.

It was a tactic to look out for. I took out my 3-4-2-1 card just like I did against the USA last time. It was a formation that was used since the last East Asian Cup. Coach Hong used the three-back card until the U.S. away game, which included European players. He received favorable reviews for his good performance in the U.S. match. Before the game, Hong said, "When I played three-back in the national match, the players did a good job. I haven't decided on my plans for tomorrow, and I think I need to think about the composition of the players"It doesn't matter much whether it's a three-back or a four-back, and the process of how to build up is key."

Coach Hong once again put forward a 3-4-2-1 formation. The fact that he took the same screening as a different member is interpreted as an intention to find the optimal player composition in the 3-4-2-1 formation. In other words, it can be interpreted that the three-back has established itself as director Hong's plan A.








This article was translated by Naver AI translator.