Coach Klinsmann's mysterious loss...Casas' diagnosis, difference from Hong Myung-bo? → "Different from the Asian Cup, organized team."
Coach Klinsmann's mysterious loss...Casas' diagnosis, difference from Hong Myung-bo? → "Different from the Asian Cup, organized team."
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Shin Tae-yong will try to win his first victory by using "the weakest" China as a scapegoat.
Team Indonesia will play its fourth Group C match against China at 9 p.m. on Tuesday for the third Asian qualifying round for the 2026 North-China World Cup. If the team catches China in the away game, it could give a green light to its advance to the World Cup finals.먹튀검증
In terms of objective performance, China is ahead of Indonesia. China ranks 91st in the FIFA rankings, which is 38 places higher than Indonesia (129th). However, the two teams' performances in the third qualifying round are quite different.
While preparing for the World Cup qualifying round, coach Shin Tae-yong actively naturalized dual-national players who are playing in Europe. In response, about half of the national team's roster for October was made up of European players.
His strong performance demonstrated his capability. The team had a 1-1 draw with Saudi Arabia, a "traditional powerhouse" in Asia. Since then, the team has also tied with Australia, which is physically pushing ahead with Asian teams, 0-0. In the third away match, the team allowed an equalizer in the second half extra time, only to earn a point with a score of 2-2.
Indonesia, which has recorded three draws, has settled in fifth place in Group C after Japan (nine points), Australia (four points), Saudi Arabia (four points), and Bahrain (four points).
In the third preliminary round, the first and second place finishers in each group win a berth to the World Cup finals. Group C is fiercely competing for second place amid Japan's dominance. They all have the same score point, but their rankings are divided based on the difference in goal difference. As Indonesia is only one point behind second-ranked Australia, it is a point that it deserves a challenge.
However, in order for Indonesia to realize its dream, it must win and acquire three points. Fortunately, the opponent team is China, the weakest team in the group.
China barely made it to the third qualifying round even after losing to South Korea twice in the last two. However, its poor performance in the third qualifying round was unmistakable.
The team suffered humiliating 0-7 defeat in its first match against Japan. The team lost 1-2 and 1-3, respectively, in the subsequent matches against Saudi Arabia. Watchers say that the team's completeness is poor, as it has conceded 12 goals in three matches. Manager Jesus Casas compared the Korean national soccer team under former coach Jurgen Klinsmann and the national team under coach Hong Myung-bo.
Iraqi coach Casas attended a press conference at Mir Stadium in Yongin on the 14th ahead of the fourth Group B match of the third Asian qualifying round for the 2026 North-China World Cup against South Korea.
Currently, Iraq is on the same team with South Korea with two wins and one draw (seven points). South Korea is in first place and Iraq is in second place due to differences in gains and losses.
Ahead of the match against Korea, Casas said, "I think it will be a game that many players want to play. Korea is a fantastic team. We have a lot of good players. That's why it will be a challenge for us, too. It will be a difficult game, and it is a good opportunity to experiment."
Casas was on the list of candidates for the next Korean national team. After retiring from football in 2003, he became a coach. He worked as a coach and analyst for Spanish pro soccer teams Cardis and Eibar as well as prestigious Barcelona teams, and served as a senior coach for the Spanish national team from 2018 to 2022 by assisting Luis Enrique St. Germain, the current coach of Paris Saint-Germain.
Starting in 2022, he took the helm of Iraq and transformed his team into the new dark horse of Asian soccer. He quickly identified the color of his team, including the 2023 Arabian Gulf Cup and the 2023 Asian Cup in Qatar.
Korea once had a friendly match with the Korean team for the final inspection ahead of the Qatar World Cup. Under then coach Klinsmann, Korea won the match 1-0 thanks to Lee Jae-sung's sharp left footed shot, but struggled somewhat due to Iraq's tight defense.
They could have had a showdown at the main event as well. At the time, Iraq beat Indonesia, Japan and Vietnam to rank No. 1 in their group, and met Jordan in the round of 16. Back then, they suffered a setback by losing 2-3 to Jordan, but if they beat Jordan, they would have passed the quarterfinals and become the opponent team in the semifinals.
In this match, Casas will meet Korea, which is facing a change from the past. As he was in the same group in the third qualifying round, what would Korea look like again.
"I think Korea now has a bit more teamwork (compared to Clisman's performance). While analyzing Korea's past few games, the team's teamwork stood out. I felt that the 4-4-2 style of defense and pressure was well established," Casas said in a pregame press conference.
"I think tomorrow's game will be different from what we met in the previous friendly," he said. "In general, Korea is more systematically playing with all the players sacrificing for defense. And I think there are a lot of very talented players."