Klinsmann, who achieved a refreshing victory with a goal fireworks after a long time, is now attempting his third consecutive win. The opponent is Vietnam, which is evaluated as one step below Korea. Although we can expect a result better than a 4-0 win against Tunisia, there are many public opinions that say there is not much to gain even if we win.
The friendly match against Vietnam held at Suwon World Cup Stadium on the 17th is the last friendly match the Korean men’s soccer team has before the actual match. Korea must hold the 2026 North and Central America World Cup Asia 2nd qualifier during the international match period in November, and then immediately go to the Qatar Asian Cup in January next year.
It has been 32 years since Korea played at home against a Southeast Asian team, starting in 1991. It is the last evaluation match before the important actual match, and the opponent is Vietnam, so there is a lot of excitement. Vietnam ranks 95th in the FIFA rankings, which is a big difference from Korea (26th). In the games against China and Uzbekistan prior to the Korea match, they were all defeated 0-2. Looking at it calmly, this is a game that Korea cannot afford to lose.
For this warm-up match, Korea summoned all key players, including Son Heung-min (Tottenham), Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain), and Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich). It is impossible to guarantee what will happen in soccer, but deploying all of them and operating at 100% power against Vietnam is something to think about. You can go into the game with the goal of breaking a dense defense in mind, but this will also be meaningless if Vietnam collapses from the beginning.
In that respect, if there is anything that can be achieved more realistically, it is to focus on using bench resources that have not had the opportunity so far and examine their skills.
After taking office, coach Jürgen Klinsmann made some changes in the 7 A matches before Tunisia, but overall he has never changed the starting lineup in the grand scheme of things. As a result, there is a lack of strength in the competition for the starting position and in Plan B.
First of all, there is room to test the central defender role that will work well with Kim Min-jae. Kim Min-jae and Kim Young-kwon (Ulsan) have been working together for a long time, but it feels like Kim Young-kwon’s position has diminished a bit recently. Even in the two-game series last September, Kim Min-jae’s partner was Jeong Seung-hyeon (Ulsan), not Kim Young-kwon.
The Vietnam War is also a good opportunity to put the Kim Min-jae and Kim Young-kwon combination into action for the first time in a long time. If not, you can also consider the surprise appointment of rookie Kim Joo-seong (Seoul), who is consistently on the list but has not been able to play in the game.
In addition, Oh Hyun-kyu (Celtic), who has been feeling a bit pushed out of the front-line competition recently, could also be brought in to check his condition. Until March, Oh Hyun-gyu seemed to be ahead, but he was pushed back significantly through the international matches in June and September. Cho Gyu-seong (Midtjylland), who started against Tunisia, showed a good performance, and Hwang Ui-jo (Norwich City) also scored a goal. If Oh Hyun-gyu can also perform well in the Vietnam match, there will be no worries about the front line for the time being.