[Anchor]

With the opening of the Asian Games in Nagoya just four days away, the men's national football team, one of the most highly anticipated events, will play its first match against Qatar tonight (the 15th). Head Coach Lee Min-sung has declared his determination to achieve an unprecedented fourth consecutive victory to revive South Korean football from its current crisis.

Reporting from Nagoya, here is Hong Seok-jun.

[Reporter]

South Korean football reclaimed the top spot after 28 years by defeating North Korea in the final of the 2014 Incheon Asian Games. The team then built an unprecedented milestone of three consecutive titles by defeating Japan back-to-back at the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games—which featured core senior national team stars such as Son Heung-min, Hwang Hee-chan, and Kim Min-jae—and three years ago in Hangzhou.

To continue this glorious legacy at the Asian Games, the squad led by Coach Lee Min-sung, which has been adapting to the local environment since the 6th, has thrown down a resolute challenge to achieve four consecutive gold medals and help South Korean football make a comeback after hitting rock bottom following the poor performance at the North and Central America World Cup.

[Lee Min-sung / Head Coach, Men's Asian Games National Football Team: "We will work hard so that we can decorate (the Asian Games) with a gold medal and help South Korean football stand up once again, and we will do our absolute best to win the gold medal."]

Although the team faces a setback as key striker Lee Young-jun, who plays in Switzerland, has had his joining delayed due to his club's objection and cannot play in today's opening match against Qatar, captain Lee Gi-hyuk, who played actively in the North and Central America World Cup, is expected to step up as a defensive midfielder to anchor the midfield, while Europe-based second-line players such as Bae Jun-ho, Um Ji-sung, and Yang Hyun-jun are projected to lead the attack.

[Lee Gi-hyuk / Captain, Men's Asian Games National Football Team: "I delivered the message that desperation must come first for the players, and I believe my role is to keep the team well-centered."]

The journey of the Asian Games national team to find hope for South Korean football begins tonight.

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Meanwhile, the women's national football team secured a dominant 5-0 victory in their first match against Myanmar—led by former head coach Colin Bell—powered by Kim Min-ji's hat trick, while "title contender" North Korea, set to face us on the 21st, crushed Bangladesh with a massive 10-0 score.

(Video by Yang Doo-won | Video Editing by Hwang Ji-young | Graphics by Park Tae-young)