South Korea national soccer team forward Oh Hyun-gyu (Celtic) has spoken of his determination ahead of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup round of 16.
“We’re ready,” Oh told reporters at the Al Egla Training Center in Doha, Qatar, on Aug. 28 (KST), adding, “I don’t think it’s any use talking about it. We will show it on the field,” he said.
South Korea finished second in Group E of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup with one win, two draws and five points to advance to the round of 16. However, the team was criticized by fans for struggling against weaker opponents with lower 텍사스홀덤 FIFA rankings.
South Korea will face Saudi Arabia at 1 a.m. on Aug. 31 for a spot in the quarterfinals. To prepare for the match, which will take place at 7 p.m. local time on Sept. 30, the team changed its training time from morning to afternoon.
Oh said of the team’s current mood, “It’s very good. All of our players are working together as one team and are preparing for the Saudi game,” he said, adding, “We are preparing well from training to the outside.”
“It’s up to the players to adapt,” he said of the change in training time to the afternoon, adding, “I think the quality of training will be better because the weather is very good at this time.”
South Korea did not make a field goal in two consecutive games, from the second game against Jordan to the third game against Malaysia. However, Oh said, “I’m always confident. “I’m always confident, and I’m ready to score if I get the chance,” he said, adding, “If I always play with the idea of playing for the team, I think the goals will come by themselves. “If I can play one more step for the team, I don’t think it matters if I don’t score a goal,” he added.
Cho Kyu-sung (Meatwillan) is the main striker, while Oh Hyun-gyu has been playing mostly as a substitute. In particular, Cho has been criticized for not finding the back of the net in the tournament.
“(Cho) talked a lot with his brother after the game,” Oh said, “I think they have their own problems, and I know them too well to say anything.” “There is pressure to score goals, but you have to do it to be recognized,” he said, adding, “I will definitely prepare to score in the next game.”
“Captain” Son Heung-min (Tottenham) asked Oh to “protect the players and not shake them up” in response to the recent criticism of the national team.
“Heung-min always speaks positively, and he leads the atmosphere by gagging himself so that the atmosphere doesn’t sag,” said Oh Hyun-gyu. “The youngest members are also always thinking about making the atmosphere good,” he said, adding, “I think the fans are worried, but we have no problem. We passed the qualifiers and now we’re just looking at the round of 16 against Saudi Arabia.”
Recently, the Saudis have been criticized for their strong defense. “I think they’re being judged because they haven’t played Korea,” Oh said. “We kept analyzing during the group stage. We just need to play well,” he said, adding with a smile, “I think we can win if we do our job well.”
“He was a striker himself as a player, and of course he wants goals,” he said, adding, “You never know what’s going to happen in the attacking area, so you always have to be ready for it.” “It would be nice to have a separate tactic, but it can be more complicated, so I think if you keep it simple, you will definitely score a lot of goals,” he added.
Saudi Arabia is a Middle Eastern country, like the host nation Qatar, and is expected to draw a large number of fans. “I think we might be at a bit of a disadvantage in terms of the atmosphere and things like that,” Klinsmann said, adding, “I think there will be 30,000 Saudi fans in the stadium.”
However, Oh Hyun-gyu said, “I think it will be more fun if there are a lot of fans.” “In fact, if there are no fans, it might be quiet and you might not feel like you are playing,” he said. “If we have a lot of fans, both Korean and foreign fans, we will be able to play more excitingly,” he said confidently.
Finally, Oh Hyun-gyu said, “We are ready. I think it’s useless to talk about it,” and vowed to “show it on the field.”