Sluggish Performance Throughout 90 Minutes… Failure in Condition Management

[Anchor]

Our players’ movements looked noticeably sluggish, making it hard to believe they were the same players we saw in the previous two matches. It wasn't a lack of rest, as they had five days off, and they arrived at the venue earlier than their opponents to acclimatize. It was a frustrating 90 minutes, raising questions about why they struggled to run and why injuries occurred. Various statistics also reveal the players' poor physical condition.

Cho Min-ki reports.

[Reporter]

Compared to the first and second matches, our players' movements were clearly heavy.

The total distance covered by the team was 111km, trailing behind South Africa and falling short of their performance in the previous two games.

With fewer off-the-ball movements, the team struggled to find passing lanes. Even their monotonous attacks, relying on crosses from the flanks, failed to create scoring opportunities as the lone striker remained isolated.

[Jang Ji-hyun/SBS Commentator: Even when crossing situations or chances arose, there were simply not enough players in the box. It was a worst-case scenario where the changes made to the squad did not work out.]

Because the players were unable to run, our team did not outperform South Africa in any aspect.

We were outplayed in interceptions 15 to 4, squandering our own attacking opportunities. We also trailed in total shots (13 to 8) and key passes leading to shots (10 to 7).

The performance was so lethargic that suspicions were raised about whether the players were suffering from physical issues.

[Hong Myung-bo/National Football Team Head Coach: The performance was not good, but there were no such issues within our team. I do not want to attribute the result to those factors.]

Speculation is also emerging that the team failed to manage their condition in the hot and humid weather of Monterrey, Mexico, which contrasts with the relatively cool climate of their base camp in Guadalajara.

Key defender Kim Min-jae was substituted in the second half due to calf pain, and Hwang In-beom was unable to run properly toward the end of the match due to muscle cramps.

[Kim Min-jae/National Football Team Defender: My calf was a bit uncomfortable, so I told the bench and came off. It was fine before the match.]

[Hwang In-beom/National Football Team Midfielder: It was very hot, and because of that, I sweated a lot, which made it physically more difficult. I had severe muscle cramps.]

Amid the shocking decline in performance, the match against South Africa, which was expected to be a celebration of advancing to the Round of 32, turned into a scene of tragedy.

(Video reporting: Hwang In-seok, Video editing: Lee Jae-sung, Graphics: Kim Ye-ji)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.