A 'Winning Strategy' Against Mexico: Will We See the 'Son Heung-min Shift'?

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Our national team has begun intensive training for what is effectively a battle for first place in the group against the host nation, Mexico. Changes to the attacking lineup are expected, differing from the match against the Czech Republic.

Reporter Lee Jung-chan has the story.

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After refreshing themselves with outings and rest,

[Hwang In-beom/National Football Team Midfielder: We rested well.]

The players gathered at the training ground with much brighter expressions, despite the drizzling rain.

[Lee Jae-sung/National Football Team Midfielder: For our second victory!]

After warming up with strength training indoors, they stepped onto the pitch and poured out sweat.

Head coach Hong Myung-bo carefully monitored the players' physical conditions, paying particular attention to those who had limited playing time in the match against the Czech Republic.

The area where Coach Hong is seeking change is the 'front line.'

To aggressively target the gap left by the opponent's key missing defender, he is considering the so-called 'Son Heung-min shift.' This involves starting Oh Hyeon-gyu—the 'joker' who scored the comeback goal despite suffering from a high fever—and moving Son Heung-min from striker to the flank to maximize attacking power.

[Hong Myung-bo/National Football Team Head Coach: Son Heung-min is in excellent scoring form... I felt that the captain's role is essential to provide stability to the players around him.]

In particular, both Son Heung-min and Oh Hyeon-gyu are expected to be 'winning cards,' as they both scored in a friendly match against Mexico last year.

[Oh Hyeon-gyu/National Football Team Forward: Since it is Mexico's home turf, we will prepare well to analyze the opponent and give 100 percent or more of what we are capable of.]

Lee Dong-gyeong, who scored two 'wonder goals' against Mexico during the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, is also waiting for the command to take the field.

The national team, which showed confidence by opening their training session for longer than usual, will begin full-scale customized training for the match against Mexico starting today (June 16).

Reported by Hwang In-seok | Video by Park Jung-sam | Graphics by Jang Chae-woo
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.