With the qualifying games for the World Cup storming on, South Korea was not an exception in entering the third round of the qualifying games. South Korea successfully took their first win against Oman with a score of 3-1. This game, which took place on Sept. 10 at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex football stadium in Oman, was also the first game won under the new coach, Hong Myeong-bo.

The victory over Oman temporarily saved Coach Hong from the criticism he received from over 60,000 Korean fans throughout the match. 

Controversy regarding the new change of the coach for the South Korean national team arose stronger than ever since their disappointing draw with Palestine, currently ranked 96th in the Men’s ranking, during the previous qualifying match.

“I believe that the new coach [Hong Myeong-bo] relies excessively on the individual talents of the players rather than having an actual strategy,” Edward Yoon (11), varsity soccer player, said. “As seen in the Oman game, the position of the center half in the field seemed very empty, leaving a huge gap in the middle third of the field. The win over Oman seemed to be the result of the Korean players’ individual talent, rather than a [strategic] advantage.”

Although the 3-1 victory over Oman brought South Korea a precious three points in their respective group, many spectators remained ambivalent regarding the future of South Korean football. 

“I think that this is a first step for our new coach, Hong Myeong-bo, but I still expect that [he] and the Korea Football Association (KFA) should be changed because they have done many wrong things,” Joshua Han (10), avid soccer fan, said. “Despite the victory, the content of the game itself was not very good, so I believe that there are still lots to improve. We should be able to win these games easily, but I had a lot of doubt in my mind.”