Maybe they were firmly determined and had prepared themselves mentally to repeat Korea’s soccer feat of reaching the semifinals again in the 2006 World Cup to be held in Germany.

At the May 15 national soccer team joint interview held at the National Football Center in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, the Korean players seemed full of confidence.

When asked the question, “What parts does the national team need to improve?” Park Ji-sung, who plays for Manchester United, answered, “In soccer, attackers don’t just attack and defenders don’t just defend. The important thing is how well the 11 players play both offense and defense, and at the moment I don’t think there is any particular part that we need to improve on.”

Will Beat Hiddink’s Australia if Both Teams Meet—

With May 15 also being Teacher’s Day, Lee Chun-soo from Ulsan Hyundai commented, “It will be good for coach Hiddink not to match up against Korea in the tournament. Korea will beat Australia, and then Hiddink will also know that his apprentice has improved drastically during the last four years.”

The Taeguk warriors evaluate that Togo, the first opponent that Korea will face off in Group G and which had played a friendly match against Saudi Arabia on May 14, has greatly improved but were confident that it was a beatable opponent. Lee analyzed, “Togo has really improved from when they played at the Nations Cup. In particular, right wingback Toure was amazing.”

Slept While Watching Togo’s Game Because it was Boring—

However Tottenham Hotspur Lee Young-pyo expressed his confidence, saying, “Saudi Arabia did not play well, rather than Togo playing well. Saudi Arabia had a difficult time because it only stuck to its central offense, but had they focused on Togo’s lateral defensive weakness they could have had a chance.” In contrast, Choi Jin-chul, who plays for Chonbuk Hyundai, commented, “I slept while watching it because it was boring. I didn’t watch until the end because Adebayor did not play.”

Most of the players selected an unstable defense as the problem that the national team needed to address most immediately.

Seol Ki-hyeon, playing for the Wolverhampton Wanderers, pointed out, “The attackers have plenty of experience so there is no problem, but the four-back defense requires a stronger teamwork through additional training.”

On the same day, the five players of the national team including Ahn Jung-hwan from Duisburg and Seol went through a checkup at Myongji Hospital and started training at 5:00 p.m.