The World Cup finals are important. I learned a lot from Coach Hong Myung-bo against Brazil
Oct 10, 2025
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South Korea lost 0-5 in an A-match friendly match against Brazil at Seoul World Cup Stadium at 8 p.m. on the 10th, dedicating two goals in the first half and three goals in the second half to a total of five goals. The national team, which allowed the lead by giving the first run to Istevan (Chelsea) in the 13th minute of the first half, dedicated relay goals to Hodrigu (Real Madrid) in the 41st minute, Istevan in the 2nd minute of the second half, Hodrigu in the 4th minute, and Vinicius Junior (Real) in the 32nd minute. It is the biggest loss by a margin since losing 1-5 to Brazil in Sangam in June 2022. Hong Myung-bo, who performed better than expected against the 2026 North Korea-China World Cup co-hosts the U.S. (2-0 wins) and Mexico (2-2 draws) in an away match in the U.S. in September, showed a clear difference in skills in front of Brazil, which is sixth in FIFA rankings.
Coach Hong Myung-bo said in a press conference after the game, `Even in bad weather today, many fans came, but I'm sorry I couldn't give you a good result. As a team, I learned a lot from a really strong team in the process of preparing for the World Cup. Especially when it comes to losing points. In many ways, it was a game where players and coaches felt and learned a lot. There are many regrets about the result, but I think we have to look forward and keep going now."
Hong Myung-bo's three-back, a new 'Plan A' tactic in preparation for the World Cup finals, was useless in front of Brazil's luxurious offense with Vinicius at the forefront. 'Defensive Hack' Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich), Cho Yoo-min (Sharza), and Kim Joo-sung (Sanfrecce Hiroshima) lined up three-backs, and wing-backs Seol Young-woo (Trvena Zvezda) and Lee Tae-seok (Austria Vienna) actually formed a five-back and tried not to give space to the opponent, but were helplessly penetrated by Brazil's counterattack, through pass, and linked play. The scene where the entire team could not respond to the opponent's personal tactics was repeated over and over again.
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As for the voices pointing out the problems with the build-up, "We have two things ready today. The first was to use a long ball to create a one-on-one situation between our striker and the opponent's defender when the opponent's forward pressure is high. When we had a lot of numbers (in defense), we prepared to do a build-up. What matters is the build-up. Players lost points to the opponent during the build-up, so they lost confidence, but they have to continue that process. That's not to say you have to build up recklessly. However, when you build up, you have to move forward (the ball). It's a matter of choice whether to go long or short."
When asked if he was worried about changing tactics during the game, he said, `I thought about switching to four-back, but I thought it would be better to finish the game with five-back, as well as the composition of the players," he explained why he pushed the three-back to the end.
In the 18th minute of the second half, when the team was being dragged 0-4, coach Hong brought captain Son Heung-min (LA FC), who set the record for the most appearances in the national team with 137 A matches, as well as key midfielders Lee Jae-sung (Mainz) and Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich), who joined the Century Club, to the bench and replaced Oh Hyun-kyu (Henk) and Kim Jin-kyu and Park Jin-seop (Jeonbuk). After using a second-half substitution, the attack was briefly energized, but it was not enough to open Brazil's goal. On the day, South Korea and Brazil were inferior in shooting number by 4 to 14 and effective shooting number by 1 to 7. South Korea will leave the disappointment behind and prepare for its second friendly match against Paraguay on the 14th. They will face each other at 8 p.m. in the same stadium.
Next is Hong Myung-bo's full-length press conference against Brazil.
-How do you feel about the game
▶Many fans came to the game against Brazil today in bad weather, and I'm sorry I couldn't give you a good result. As a team, I learned a lot from a really strong team in the process of preparing for the World Cup. Especially when it comes to losing points... At the counter attack on the 5th loss scene... If you have time, you have to supplement it, but in many ways, it was a game where players and coaches felt and learned a lot. There are many regrets about the result, but I think we should look forward and keep going now.
- A mistake was made during the rear build-up process. Is it part of the experiment
▶ I prepared two things. The first was to use a long ball to create a one-on-one situation between our striker and the opponent's defender when the opponent's forward pressure is high. When we had a lot of numbers (in defense), we prepared to do a build-up. It's important to build up. Players lose points to the opponent during the build-up, so they lose their confidence, but they have to continue that process. That's not to say you have to build up recklessly. But the important thing about the build-up is that (the ball) has to move forward. It's a matter of choice whether to go long or short.
-It was a backlog in many ways, but why there was no change in tactics in the middle.
▶ Rather than acting as a striker, the opponent's strikers came down and acted as midfielders, and they received the ball and quickly converted the attack. So there was a situation where our defenders couldn't do sweatshirts and kept rushing in. When he caught the ball, he instructed after the first half to create a situation where one person went out from behind to get close to the player who had the ball and covered the rest. I thought about switching to a four-back in the middle, but I thought it was better to finish the game with a five-back, as well as the composition of the players.
-Half-time and post-match talk.
▶ In the first half, the defense and the offense were good. This was especially true of the scene where forward pressure went out in the front area. Brazilian players have good personal skills and pass and personal techniques. At some point, our players seemed hesitant to put pressure on them. As a result, in a good scene, he began to bite back rather than pressure, and gave up a lot of space to his opponent. After the first half, I told our players that it was okay. We lost points on what we wanted to do, but we told the players to be active.
-Frequent mistakes have been made.
▶There were several scenes of runs that could come out of soccer. There were mistakes, and the opponent did well and scored a goal with a passing play. There was also a run due to count attacks. We need to improve further in the future. Then you can make no mistake later. There is no need to look at it negatively. Kim Min-jae may not make a mistake in the next game. Compared to the U.S. away game, the timing and intensity of the pressure from the front were not good. It is a direction that needs to be continuously improved.
-differences in individual abilities.
▶It is difficult to raise your personal skills to a high level immediately. As a result, it is necessary to examine what became a problem when meeting with the strong team through this process. We have to go to the World Cup next year and finish it well. Let's find a way to fight as a team. There was a shortcoming in that area. I have no choice but to make up for what I learned today little by little.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
