Korea to hold first match at East Asian Cup against China

Korea to hold first match at East Asian Cup against China. August. 01, 2015 07:20. trigger@donga.com.

The Korean national soccer team led by Coach Uli Stielike, which aims to win the East Asian Cup title for the first time in seven years, arrived in Wuhan, China, the venue for a make-or-break race. Coach Stielike has another long-term goal to achieve through the competition in addition to rising to the top place. He aims to secure adequate preliminary capacity in manpower in preparation for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. It is for this reason that Stielike said on Friday, “I want to see how less experienced players will perform.”

Players are also well aware of the coach’s intention. Midfielder Lee Jae-seong (23) of Jeonbuk in the K-League is committed to strongly impressing Coach Stielike at the upcoming event at a time when Lee Chung-yong (27, Crystal Palace) is absent. Lee Jae-seong scored his A-match debut goal at his second A match game in March, and has emerged as a new asset for Team Korea. Lee Jae-seong, who debuted as a pro last year, had eight goals (seven assists) in the K-League through July. He has surpassed Lee Chung-yong, who had three goals (one assist) during the two seasons after his debut in the Korean league.

Lee Jae-seong is also skilled at team play as right side striker. “I wish to become a player who can confidently compete with senior player Lee Chung-yong,” he said.

Kim Seung-gyu (25, Ulsan), who joined the national team in lieu of Kim Jin-hyeon (28, Cerezo, Osaka) due to the latter’s injury, is committed to regaining the starting player position. Since Coach Stielike’s inauguration, Kim has had fierce competition with Kim Jin-hyeon to become the starting goalie. However, since the Asian Cup in January, Kim Seung-gyu was seen losing ground in the battle to become a starting member. Kim Jin-hyeon enabled Korea to become the runner-up at the Asian Cup through a number of outstanding plays at the Asian Cup. In overall performance, Kim Jin-hyeon, who has allowed eight goals in 11 matches (average loss of 0.73 goals per match), is leading Kim Seung-gyu (loss of 11 goals in 12 matches, average loss of 0.92 goals per match) as well.

Kim Seung-gyu seized the opportunity to come from behind through shutout wins over the United Aram Emirates (Korea wins 3-0) and Myanmar (Korea wins 2-1) in June. He said, “Competition is not over yet. I want to display stable performance (at the East Asian Cup)” in renewing his commitment.

Korea will play its first match at the event with China at 10 p.m. (Korea time) on Sunday.