South Korea Coach Hong Myung-bo: 'We Haven't Revealed Set-Piece Tactics Yet'

South Korea's national football team, preparing for the 2026 World Cup, secured victories in two consecutive friendly matches, with coach Hong Myung-bo stating that set-piece tactics have not yet been revealed.

The team, led by Hong Myung-bo, defeated El Salvador 1-0 on May 4 (Korean time) at South Field, Brigham Young University, near Provo, Utah, with Lee Dong-gyeong's free-kick goal in the 12th minute of the second half proving to be the winner.

Following their dominant 5-0 victory against Trinidad and Tobago on March 31, Hong Myung-bo's squad achieved two consecutive wins and clean sheets in their 'World Cup mock tests.'

Although the opponents' FIFA rankings were in the 100s, leading to some criticism that they were weak opponents for mock tests, Coach Hong focused on giving all players equal playing time while working on altitude adaptation and team tactical completion.

In a post-match press conference, Hong expressed his gratitude, saying, "I am thankful that the players have followed the program prepared by the national team well during the pre-camp in Salt Lake City."

Addressing concerns about the lack of completion in set-piece tactics, he emphasized, "We are not exposing them in friendly matches. We plan to enhance their completeness at the base camp in Guadalajara, Mexico, where the first group stage match will be held."

The following is a Q&A with Coach Hong.

-- What are your thoughts on completing the friendly match schedule?

▲ With today's match, we have completed all friendly match schedules and the pre-camp in Salt Lake City. I am grateful that the players worked very hard and followed the training program that started here.

It is fortunate that the players' conditions, which were overall imbalanced as a team, have now been brought to a similar state. Altitude adaptation was the most important thing, and now we see the players showing some level of adaptation.

-- You struggled against a weaker opponent like El Salvador.

▲ We had difficulties in the early part of the game. El Salvador played in a similar style to the Czech Republic, whom they will face in the group stage, and I believe it was a good experience for the players to respond to that.

Now, the national team needs to focus more on creating scoring opportunities.

-- Lee Dong-gyeong, who started instead of Lee Kang-in, scored. Can his utility increase?

▲ This is something we need to keep watching. His condition is not bad right now. Lee Dong-gyeong is full of confidence mentally. Players in good condition will play in the main tournament.

-- What were the achievements from the pre-camp? What was the reason for Kim Tae-hyeon's (Kashima) absence?

▲ Kim Tae-hyeon had a slight cold. He was in a condition to play for about 15 minutes today, but we decided it was better to give him rest, and we need to see how much he recovers in the remaining time.

What was satisfactory about this camp is that new players like Lee Ki-hyeok (Gangwon) and Cho Wi-je (Jeonbuk) are adapting well in the defensive line. I believe they are fully fulfilling their roles as replacements for injured players.

-- How did you prepare for set pieces?

▲ We did not expose set pieces in the friendly match situations. Once we get to Mexico, we plan to increase their completeness through set-piece training.

-- How do you plan to prepare after moving to Mexico, where the climate is also different?

▲ Fortunately, the players competed in quite hot weather today, which helped them adapt. Upon arrival in Guadalajara, Mexico (local time) on the 5th, there is an official event on the 6th, so it won't be a perfect training situation. We plan to focus for about three days from the 7th to the 9th to further develop the areas where we have been lacking. In particular, we plan to focus on defensive tactics.