S. Korea loses 6-1 to Spain in friendly match
South Korea’s Suk Hyun-jun, left, vies for the ball against Spain’s Marc Barta Aregall during a friendly football match in Salzburg, Austria, Wednesday. / Yonhap
By John Duerden
Ouch. There’s nothing else that can be said about Korea’s 6-1 thrashing at the hands of Spain in Salzburg on Wednesday evening Seoul time. The defeat, the first since January 2015 was every bit as bad as the score suggests.
It is no surprise that the 15-match unbeaten run ended against one of the best teams in the world preparing for the upcoming European championships. The manner of defeat was surprising though. As soon as Spain took the lead through a David Silva free-kick on the half-hour, Korea went to sleep or fell to pieces and Spain scored four more goals in the next 24 minutes.
The result marks the Taeguk Warriors’ biggest loss since August 2001 when Guus Hiddink coached his team against France and Czech Republic (Korea’s opponent on Sunday) and lost to both 5-0. The Dutchman received plenty of criticism at the time but had the last laugh as less than a year later, he steered the Korean team into the final four of the 2002 World Cup.
This time there is no World Cup to prepare for but only qualification for the 2018 tournament. The final round for that starts on September 1 with a game against China. Playing against Asian opponents seems to be no problem for a team that went through the second round of qualification by winning all seven games without conceding a goal.
Playing against the best in the world is the ultimate goal and on this evidence, there is a long way for Korea to go. Goalkeeper Kim Jin-hyeon will not want to watch the highlights as the Japan-based stopper had a poor game.
It is a fact of life at the moment however that the country’s goalkeeping is not at the level it once was. He could not have done much about the opening strike from Silva but he was at fault for the second goal and from that point on it was painful to watch.
Defensively, the team struggled to keep up with the Spanish run and looked a little bamboozled by it. Kim Young-gwon is injured but it is debatable as to how much difference the Guangzhou Evergrande central defender would have made. The energy and drive of the injured Koo Ja-cheol further up the field was missed however.
Chances were at a premium in this game as they always are against Spain. Hwang Ui-jo was ineffective as the main striker and the improved performance of Suk Hyun-jun as he came on in the second half suggested he should have been on from the start.
Star players Ki Sung-yeung and Son Heung-min were not at their best with Ki not up to his usual form and Son growing increasingly frustrated at the lack of opportunities.
Compared to 15 years ago when Hiddink was in charge for the European thrashings, there is plenty of anger around. These are different times.
What is important is that Korea bounces back quickly and there is a perfect opportunity to do so against the Czechs on Sunday. There has to be a better performance from the players and coach.
It is no longer about giving every player a chance to play, it is about showing that Korea can compete against the top European teams. Another heavy defeat could leave a long-lasting dent in the team’s confidence.