In the face of South Korean soccer’s shocking defeat, even the coach’s last words could not be heard.
After Hwang was sent off against Indonesia in what turned out to be South Korea’s final game, head coach Myung Jae-yong attended the press conference. Hwang didn’t even pass through the mix zone before heading to the bus.
Even though the teams share the same philosophy, it was difficult for Myung to get the full meaning of Hwang’s words.
The South Korea U-23 national football team (Olympic team), coached by Hwang Sun-hong, drew 2-2 with Indonesia in a thrilling penalty shootout before losing 10-11 on penalties in the quarterfinals of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-23 Asian Cup and the Asian Final Qualifier for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium in Doha, Qatar on Saturday (June 26).
The Koreans fought back to tie the game, even after substitute Lee Young-joon was sent off, to force the match into extra time and a penalty shootout. All 10 kickers in the lineup kicked once, with one or two more kickers kicking once more, setting up penalty shootout drama. South Korea’s dreams of qualifying for their 10th consecutive Olympic Games were dashed.
Head coach Myung Jae-yong, not Hwang Sun-hong, was present at the post-match press conference. This was because Hwang received a red card in the second half for arguing with the referee over an opponent’s foul.
Just as at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Hwang was sent off against Ghana in the second group game and did not return until the end of the third game against Portugal. As per FIFA rules, Hwang was banned from any media activity immediately after the game against Indonesia.
Coach Myung Jae Yong Myung came to the press conference with a guillotined heart. “First of all, I would like to congratulate Indonesia for winning the match. “First of all, I would like to congratulate Indonesia for winning the game. Even though we were sent off, the players didn’t give up and did a good job until the end to equalize and take the lead. We had to rely on luck in the last penalty shootout. We didn’t have that luck at the end,” said the coach.
Afterward, he answered questions from the press. Questions were directed at Myung, including why he substituted Lee Young-joon, the changes he made at halftime, and the correlation between the performance and the failure to qualify for Europe. Coach Myung was in a situation where his every word was under pressure in the face of a shock defeat.
Coach Myung calmly answered all the questions, but he was left disappointed. Although he was an assistant to coach Hwang Sun-hong, he was not in charge of the entire tournament.
South Korean reporters wanted to hear from Hwang Sun-hong after his team’s shocking Olympic qualification, but they couldn’t. They didn’t even 토토 get to see the last of Hwang, let alone hear him speak.
The disappointment was compounded by the fact that we didn’t hear much of his thoughts throughout the tournament.
Hwang was very reticent even before the group stage began. The tournament was unusual in that the pre-group stage press conference was held in one room with the coaches of all four countries in the group. In a short amount of time, all four coaches had to answer questions from the press.
After the press conference, the coaches were interviewed by their respective national media, but Hwang was not available. Even afterward, it was difficult to get access to Hwang, and it took several requests for an interview on the training ground before he was granted.
Even when we did manage to get an interview, Hwang’s words were mixed. Most of what he said was superficial, and he seemed reluctant to reveal anything deeper.
Still, I tried to understand Hwang’s feelings as he faced a major task for Korean soccer: qualifying for the Olympic Games. But at the last minute, he was sent off and the chance to see him disappeared. It was the worst possible ending.
Of course, Hwang’s life as a soccer player is also coming to an end.