132. Pajukjise (2)
August 16, 18:00.
Beijing Workers Stadium.
All 60,000 spectator seats were sold out the day before the start.
As expected, as it is a city with many Koreans, about 10,000 Koreans visited, 40,000 seats were occupied by Chinese people, and the remaining 10,000 seats were scheduled to be occupied by Chinese police officers.
It was for maintaining public order.
There was already a bit of a war of nerves between Korea and China outside the stadium before the game started, but it was immediately stopped by police.
A 100-year dream.
The Chinese side, which has been preparing for the Beijing Olympics for the past year, has been working hard to maintain security by deploying police officers throughout the city.
The aggressive Chinese spectators could not even open their mouths in front of them and just quietly entered the stadium.
The reason they paid the high ticket price to visit the stadium was purely to enjoy the game, but there was also a real reason.
“Today, I am sure to see Korea lose. Today is already the fourth time. “You’ve got to get your money’s worth!”
Some Chinese people desperately wanted to capture the moment of Korea’s crushing defeat.
However, Cameroon lost in the first game and even Italy, whom they trusted, recorded a draw, so in the end, they were not able to see the scene they wanted.
Moreover, with China eliminated from the group stage with 2 draws and 1 loss, they only thought that they would relieve their stress through today’s game.
Beep!
The game started with cheers from over 50,000 spectators.
Belgium, who took the lead, was a team that was evaluated as having both a sharp attack and a solid defense.
In the offensive line, Moussa Dembele, who is attracting attention in the Dutch league, and in the defensive line, Vincent Kompany, had a decent defensive ability.
Both of them have the potential to become great players in the future, but since they have not yet reached their potential, they possess the skills of someone in their early 20s.
Belgium may be difficult to beat in 10 years, but it is possible to win now.
In fact, the odds placed on Korea in this game were not as high as expected.
It was a game where there was nothing strange about who won.
This is because central midfielder Marouane Fellaini, who is 194 cm tall, suffered an injury in the match against China and will not be able to play today.
This is the best news for Korea.
Today was the right time to win.
[Belgium, who used a 4-2-3-1 formation in the 17th minute of the first half, is trying to change.]
[The game hasn’t gone well since the first half started. The air supremacy battle, which should have been tightly controlled, is not being overwhelming at around 6 to 4. Belgium’s forward pass is not being delivered properly to Moussa Dembele. So now we are trying to change into something different.]
Belgium.
They came up with a strategy of deploying midfielders with good mid-range shooting skills to unleash massive firepower, but it wasn’t very effective.
So what was changed was the 4-2-4 formation.
However, the problem was not solved all at once.
Jan Vertonghen, who replaced Fellaini in midfield, was unable to fulfill his assigned role and suffered confusion throughout the game.
Additionally, Anthony Vanden Borre, who was supposed to protect the back four, was swayed by a Korean player.
It was Woo Ho-young.
As cracks appeared in the double volanche, the balance between offense and defense collapsed.
It even affected the offensive line, and Dembele wandered around like a teenager who ran away from home, making no threatening moves.
There may be many reasons for this, but the biggest problems were the failure to use unfamiliar tactics and unusual teamwork.
dissonance.
That was plaguing Belgium.
And South Korea.
[I can see that his movements have slowed down a lot since the game against Italy. What many experts pointed out in the Honduras match was also evident in this match. I need to be more focused and pay attention to each pass.]
[That’s right. Our players! I hope they give us a little more strength!]
Korea’s performance was not good either.
In particular, it was because too much effort was put into the game against Italy.
If you put in 130% of your energy back then, you can only use 70% of it in today’s game.
Meaningless passes were made excessively in the defense and lazy movements continued in the midfield.
Woo Ho-young, who was appointed as a front-line striker to control his stamina, moved slightly to the back and tried to distribute the ball, but the other players were unable to follow suit.
Even though he tried to create a decisive chance by hitting and running with the ball alone, it did not result in a goal due to the Belgian players’ hard-hitting defense that attacked them as soon as they caught the ball.
‘My body is heavy.’
Hoyoung fully understood his problem.
“after.”
Still, I had no choice but to do my best until the end.
Beep-
[First half ends. South Korea records a 0-0 draw against Belgium.]
[Yes. It was a good fight. The possession rate was similar, and the number of shots was slightly behind, but it was still okay. However, what was disappointing was that the players’ fighting spirit was not visible. I have to be prepared to die in today’s game to be able to give my all, right?]
And at that time, the Korean team’s locker room.
The players clearly looked tired.
Still, the atmosphere was okay.
The game was not yet in jeopardy, so if I just had a little more strength, I could take a step forward.
Meanwhile, Ki Seong-ryong approached Ho-young and said.
“Relax.”
“Ah yes.”
“If there are people like last time, I will screw them up.”
cowardice.
Ki Sung-ryong guessed that was Woo Ho-young’s current concern.
The idea was half right and half wrong.
It wasn’t so much that he couldn’t play because of the aftereffects, but it was true that his play was hindered.
It was because of Hoyoung’s tendency.
When faced with an emergency, you don’t panic and deal with it well, but afterward, your heart starts pounding.
And keep that in mind.
‘Hehe… let’s come to our senses.’
Swish.
Hoyoung shook his head.
There were too many things in my head.
I filled it all down with the thought that I could win.
‘Let’s start again slowly, one by one.’
At the same time, I had to shake off the pressure of the quarterfinals.
Beep –
After the 15-minute halftime, the second half began.
There were no major changes in Korea, but Belgium made many changes to its ranks and detailed tactics.
First, they pulled the defense together to supplement the midfield, and then developed the attack in detail to fool the eyes of the Korean defenders.
The tactics ordered by Belgian coach Jean-Francois were working.
Instead of rushing, we focused on movement to create a decisive opportunity.
It looked a lot different compared to the first half.
The spectators, who had criticized the sub-par performance and said it was a waste of money, also raised their voices in support as if the game was now worth watching.
The game quickly gained momentum and began to unfold at a fast pace.
Winning mentality.
That was seen in the Belgian players.
Korea wasn’t easy either.
“Great Korea!”
Red Devil.
They gave enthusiastic support and heated up the stadium.
As the back-and-forth continued, the clock eventually stopped at 90 minutes.
[The second half ends scoreless and goes into overtime.]
[All our players are here. All you have to do is try a little harder.]
30 minutes.
A hellish time unfolded.
While Belgium had already used up all of their replacement cards, Park Seong-ho’s South Korea, which had saved them until the end, still had one replacement card left.
He replaced Park Joo-hyung with Kim Jeong-hu and appointed Woo Ho-young as the top player.
A counterattack tactic that involves holding on and holding on and then aiming for the back space for just one opportunity.
It was a tactic that had been put together several times since arriving in China.
I didn’t know if the opportunity would ever come.
But the opportunity came.
12 minutes of extra time in the first half.
Percussion!
[Pass to Moussa Dembele! Dembele will face off against Ki Dong-jin! Dembele! What is Dembele’s judgment?…]
[Ah! It’s pierced! They allow Mobile Dembele to penetrate the side! Cross going up to the center!]
Tak.
Offensive midfielder Martens had a header, but the ball went right in front of the goalkeeper.
[Jeong Seong-yong’s save!]
Ahhh!
There were sighs from the 40,000 spectators, but it did not end there.
Jeong Seong-yong’s body flinched and he threw the ball with all his might.
The ball flew to the third line and landed at Ki Sung-ryong’s toes.
“run!”
Cough!
Ki Sung-ryong’s long pass flew deep into the front line.
It was a counterattack.
The back space of Belgium is literally an empty plain.
The defenders came back in a hurry, but perfect defense was virtually impossible.
It was a perfect counterattack opportunity for Korea.
“female!”
Percussion!
Lee Geun-oh, who was on the left side after receiving the ball, looked at Kim Jeong-hoo.
Kim Jeong-hoo looked at Woo Ho-young again.
It was right then.
Near the penalty area.
The ground ball pass was delivered to Hoyoung’s feet.
Okay.
When Hoyoung caught the ball, Vincent Kompany stood in front of him.
The two people’s eyes met.
Uneasy.
That flowed from both of their eyes at the same time.
But it was Woo Ho-young who came to his senses first.
At this moment, I faced Kompany with the sole intention of winning.
I let go of all other worries.
Kompany, who is still only a prospect, is no match for him.
One-on-one is enough to break through.
That’s how I armed my mind.
But then.
‘right.’
As Hoyoung’s field of vision widened, his pupils turned to the right.
A more certain route than the breakthrough came into view.
I unexpectedly stretched out my feet.
fault.
[Woo Ho-young’s forward pass to the right! It is delivered to Lee Cheong-ryong by a narrow margin! Lee Cheong-ryong sees Woo Ho-young again! Lee Cheong-ryong’s return pass follows!]
Percussion.
Breakthrough success.
Hoyoung escaped Kompany’s shadow through a 2-on-1 pass with Lee Cheong-ryong and immediately took a shooting stance.
This is because goalkeeper Logan Bailly ran out.
As expected, he was not someone to look down on.
He remained focused until the end and was making predictions.
However, Hoyoung’s prediction skills are superior.
Hoyoung, who was two moves ahead, aimed slightly at the right goal post and took a shooting stance.
Without missing that moment, Logan Baily tilted his body to the left with an animal sense.
But that was then.
[Woo Ho-young’s shot painting! Pretend to shoot and turn left! Widely open space! Shoot, shoot, souuuuuut!]
A shot that came out only after deceiving the goalkeeper.
It shot out like a bullet and split the net.
It was Korea’s first goal, scored from Woo Ho-young’s toes.
[Gooooooooo! This is a goal that brings sweet rain in a drought! Woo Ho-young!]
[Olympic 3rd goal! You end up scoring a theater goal! I knew we could do it!]
The stadium was filled with the shouts of the Red Devils chanting for Korea.
And when the first half of overtime ended and the 15 minutes of the second half passed, most of the spectators left the stadium cursing.
Beep-
[Korea national team semifinals! I am making my dream of reaching the top four in Olympic soccer come true!]
[I am proud. Our athletes!]
It was Korea’s first time advancing to the semifinals of the Olympics.
And that time.
In the other quarterfinal match held in Shenyang, Brazil won 4-0 against Italy, confirming their advancement to the semifinals.
Today’s game did not end there.
An hour later, matches 3.4 of the quarterfinals were held simultaneously in Qinhuangdao, and this was also a big match.
First, the match between Ivory Coast and the Netherlands.
The Netherlands advanced to the semifinals with a spectacular 3-2 victory.
And last.
A match between Argentina, which ranked second in Group A, and Nigeria, which advanced to first place in Group A.
This game was also closely fought as it went into overtime, but Lionel Messi scored a comeback goal just before the end of extra time, ultimately giving Argentina a dramatic victory.
With this, Argentina became the last team to advance to the semifinals.
They were Korea’s semifinal opponents.
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