[Anchor]

Kim Min-jae, the core of our defense, also threw his hat into the ring during a press conference on behalf of the national team. He expressed confidence that the defense is becoming increasingly solid and that they can stop the South African attack, which specializes in breakthroughs and long-range shots.

Reporter Cho Min-ki has the story.

[Reporter]

Head coach Hong Myung-bo deployed a three-back formation consisting of Kim Min-jae, Lee Ki-hyuk, and Lee Han-beom in both the matches against the Czech Republic and Mexico.

Although they conceded one goal per game, the stability of the defensive line was better than expected.

Kim Min-jae proved his "big leaguer" class with stable defense in every match, while Lee Han-beom, appearing in his first World Cup, showed strengths in aerial duels, and Lee Ki-hyuk excelled in clearances.

Kim Min-jae, the anchor of the defense, appeared confident, noting that their chemistry is improving with every match.

[Kim Min-jae/National Football Team Defender: Before coming to the World Cup, we lacked a bit of confidence and looked a bit lost, but now everyone seems to be performing their roles well. So, I think our confidence has grown a lot.]

The defensive trio is expected to be deployed again tomorrow (June 25), and they have finished analyzing the South African attack, which is known for its dribbling and fast breakthroughs.

[Kim Min-jae/National Football Team Defender: (South Africa) has technically gifted players with speed, so the defenders have talked about preparing well for that part.]

Long-range shots are also a point of concern.

Before the World Cup, South Africa scored 4 of their 13 goals in 10 A-matches from long range, and in their two matches in this tournament, 13 out of their 20 shots were taken from outside the penalty box.

The national team plans to counter this with a strategy where Kim Min-jae guards the rear while Lee Ki-hyuk and Lee Han-beom apply active pressure to block shooting opportunities.

[Kim Min-jae/National Football Team Defender: Rather than saying I'm leading them, I think of myself as pushing them from behind. It's important for all the players to become one and perform on the pitch.]

The "Taegeuk Defensive Wall," which is becoming increasingly solid, is confident of a victory against South Africa.

[Kim Min-jae/National Football Team Defender: I think we can win if we just play like we did in the previous two matches.]

(Reported by Hwang In-seok | Video by Hwang Ji-young | Graphics by Kang Yoon-jung)