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| South Korean winger Son Heung-min, front, reacts after scoring the team's second goal against Chile during a friendly match at the Daejeon World Cup Stadium, Monday. Yonhap |
By John Duerden
It has been a good couple of months for South Korean soccer. The national team clinched a place at the 2022 World Cup in March and then May saw Son Heung-min win the English Premier League golden boot, the prize given to the top goalscorer. Then came a massive wake-up call in the shape and famous colors of Brazil. Losing 5-1 to the five-time champion in Seoul on Thursday was a painful but necessary lesson.
Son Heung-min was correct. "They showed that they're world class as a team and individuals," he said. "It was an honor to play against them and we can see that we are behind in many aspects. We're disappointed, but we'll do everything we can to show the fans that we can learn the lessons for the World Cup."
Nobody expected victory over the South American giants but conceding five goals was also not supposed to happen either. At the end of the game, the applause from the 65,000 or so fans at the Seoul World Cup Stadium was for the men in yellow. After strolling through Asian qualification for the World Cup ahead of Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and United Arab Emirates, Korea knew that tougher tests are needed to prepare for Group H against Uruguay, Portugal and Ghana. If the Taeguk Warriors do get out of that group then there is a good chance they will play Brazil in Qatar.
That is for the future. On Thursday, the Selecao gave a ruthless reminder that there is a huge gap between being one of the best teams in Asia and being a top side worldwide. There were also huge gaps just in front of the Korean defense and the Brazilian forwards couldn't believe their luck. Any giving away of possession was pounced upon by the South Americans in a way that just does not happen in most games in Asia. Brazil showed why it is a world-class team in how it played with and without possession. The visitor moved the ball around quickly and confidently, playing out from the back with one-touch soccer at a speed that Korea couldn't match and when the host did have possession, Brazil put them under pressure.
If Korea is to have any chance against the best in the world then mistakes have to be minimized. "Hopefully, they will learn from this," said Guus Hiddink, the man who coached Korea to the last four of the 2002 World Cup and back in the country as part of the 20-year anniversary celebrations. "If you go play a bit naive and lose your possession easily, near to your own box, then you're in trouble. The key is, don't make stupid errors. But don't forget you played one of the two or three best teams in the world."
Giving away two penalties didn't help. Both were converted by Neymar, who waited for Kim Seung-gyu to commit himself before rolling the ball into the opposite side to the obvious frustration of the goalkeeper.
Beating Chile 2-0 four days later with fine goals from Hwang Hee-chan and Son on his 100th appearance helped improve the mood. But this was an understrength and experimental Chile still disappointed about missing out on the World Cup, not to mention being down to ten men for a large part of the match.
It was a much better performance from Korea but then the opposition was not at the same level.
The lessons of the Brazil match should not be forgotten and there is a lot of hard work ahead.
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