It wasn't just that the players' performance dropped due to rumors of discord among them.
The ineffective forward pressure, which only highlighted the shortcomings of the 4-4-2 tactic, and the lack of precision in the build-up were still a failing point in terms of tactical completeness.
The Korean national soccer team, led by coach Robert Moreno, lost 2-3 in the first match of a two-game series in November against Saudi Arabia held at the Jassim bin Hamad Stadium in Doha, Qatar, on the 13th (Korean time).
Although it seemed like a disappointing loss by just 1 goal, looking at the content, it was a repeated pattern of struggling to chase after Saudi Arabia's quick offense and defense transition and individual skills for the entire 90 minutes.
This match against Saudi Arabia was a game of great significance to Morenoho.
The national team found itself in a difficult situation due to rumors of a discord between the '92 line' Son Heung-min (LAFC) and Lee Jae-seong (Mainz) and the '96 line' Hwang Hee-chan (Schalke), Hwang In-beom (Porto), and Kim Min-jae (Munich) that arose during four consecutive international matches in September and October.
Meanwhile, the '92nd Line' and '96th Line' held close talks with each other ahead of the Saudi Arabia game and then produced a dialogue agreement by announcing an agreement under a joint name.
As the national team's atmosphere improved due to 'united spirit', fans hoped that the disappointing performance shown in the four consecutive international matches in September and October would be upgraded through this match against Saudi Arabia.
Coach Moreno was involved in a rumor of discord with Son Heung-min in the starting lineup that day, but included key members of the national team, such as Hwang Hee-chan, Hwang In-beom, and Kim Min-jae, who announced a joint statement in unity toward the development of Korean soccer.
The front two top strikers are Son Heung-min and Oh Hyun-gyu (Besiktas), while Hwang Hee-chan and Lee Kang-in (Atletico Madrid) are on the left and right wings. Hwang In-beom and Park Jin-seop (Save) were deployed as central midfielders.
Cho Hyun-taek (Ulsan) and Seol Young-woo (Augsburg) played left and right fullbacks, while Kim Min-jae and Lee Han-beom (Brugge) played central defenders. The goalkeeper was Seung-gyu Kim (Tokyo).
The national team was blocked by Saudi Arabia's strong forward pressure from the beginning of the first half and had difficulty building up.
Even when the ball was delivered to 'midfield coordinator' Hwang In-beom, he was unable to find a space to deliver the ball due to the pressure of the opponent, and in the end, he had no choice but to rely on long ball tactics targeting the space behind the opponent.
The only thing that was threatening was the scene in the 19th minute of the first half when Son Heung-min followed up the ball from midfield with a left-footed shot from Hwang Hee-chan, but after that, set play scenes based on 'tactical promise' rarely appeared.
In the 4-4-2 tactic, it is important for players to keep a good distance between each other while running a lot, but on this day, the Taegeuk Warriors were not able to play efficiently and only showed an urgency to protect their own positions.
Rather, Saudi Arabia showed tactical flexibility by quickly penetrating into space whenever space was available, regardless of position, but Morenojo only seemed to stick to the '4-4-2 formation'.
It was fortunate that the players' eye contact revived little by little in the second half.
In the 2nd minute of the second half, Seol Young-woo's cross followed by Hwang In-beom's pass, Oh Hyun-gyu's finish, and in the 23rd minute of the second half, Lee Jae-seong's chase goal after receiving Hwang Hee-chan's pass to the left of the penalty area, but it was unfortunate that it started too late.
