I disagree. Ki is 28 years old right now, will be 29 when next WC comes around. The type of player he is and his skillset, he can still be very beneficial at age 33 for 2022 WC. Maybe he doesn't want to go to Qatar WC, and this is his way of protesting. I don't blame him. I'm not planning on watching the Qatar 2022 WC as well so.
It's not unusual for players to step down from international duty after age 30. Sometimes it's just a break and they return after a year or two if they're asked. I would guess it hasn't been easy being the captain of this squad the past two cycles, with all the drama involving managers and the KFA. Plus, with his recent track record with injuries and somewhat-diminished club career, it would make sense that he would want to avoid having to fly halfway around the world to play in friendlies and early qualifiers against Bhutan in 2019. I could see him returning from international retirement in like 2020 or 2021.
Its totally unusual. Name a few a decided to retire at 30...which is only 2 years of the accepted prime age of 28 yo.
We are urged to find the replacement(s) after WC 2018 then! Ki is like the KNT's heart. The likes of Han Chan Hee, Paik Seung Ho, Kim Jung Min, Hwang In Beom or whoever will be forced to fill his shoes.
No. But my point is, it will be incredibly hard to replace Ki. The way we develop players and the quality, next Ki might be long time coming.
Man I really hope LSW picks up his slack till the WC. I think he'll be a very good player for us. Something like this: Son-Suk LSW-DM-KSY-KCH Lee works hard defensively yet he can also move forward really well with his speed and dribbling. If he can really improve I think we can have a really good midfield (minus dm sadly) and forwards.
i think SHM, LSW, HHC, LJS, KCH, and SHJ are all more suited for a quick counter-attacking style. slow possession style exposes our poor touches and creates far less chances then the direct style STY used in the last senior team friendlies
LSW is not ready to start and won't be until WC imo. Also he's not LM material. He'd destroy the balance. LJS as LM is perfect. LSW is rather a LW or LS. He can be our super sub though.
Well, eff you too... None of the other teams in Group F has scheduled a friendly with an Asian team leading up to Russia. http://sports.news.naver.com/kfootball/news/read.nhn?oid=382&aid=0000612550
We'll hit them where they are less expected. I personally think our offensive players are better than probably Mexico and Sweden. Sweden plays with top 2: Marcus Berg and Ola Toivonen. Son and Suk are both better than them. Mexico's Euro players aren't having the best seasons right now, not getting a lot of minutes and scoring goals. They have Lozano but Son Heungmin is better again.
I understand that this may appear as if our group opponents are looking down on us, but maybe it has more to do with scheduling and scouting info? I can't think of a team that will be a good prep against Korea in AFC in terms of tactical similarities (Japan? but they seem too different in their football approach right now). As for Mexico, maybe their priorities are making much TV money as possible by scheduling pre-WC friendlies in US, and I can't think of a good Asian team to invite to that friendly.
Mexico have Chicarito, who is a prolific scorer himself and has good of a scoring resume as Son. And someone like Chicarito is way smarter than any of our defenders.
Agreed. As much as I love the Mexican National Team, they are the most ignorant bunch with one belief in mind "Offense trumps Defense" so I predict they will look completely past the book on us and will try to score at will. Meaning man to man markup on our attacking means very little to them. This should, as it usually does when we play Mexico, make for an exciting match which we usually lose.
yeah I know Chicharito is a very good player but I'm saying a lot of Mexican players are not having the best season right now. It's too early to make a judgement. Still they have better players that's for sure. Sweden I think our players can go head to head but they are really good as a team I suppose.