‘Supernova’ Bae Jun-ho can’t join them
Even ‘supernova’ Bae Jun-ho (Stoke City) can’t join them. The Korean soccer team’s quest for a 10th consecutive Olympic berth is in jeopardy. The Korea Football Association announced on Thursday that Bae Joon-ho’s club Stoke City (English second division), which was included in the 23-man roster for the final Olympic qualifiers, has finally informed the team that it will not be able to withdraw the player due to team circumstances. Head coach Hwang Sun-hong selected Choi Kang-min (Ulsan HD) to replace Bae Jun-ho. Choi is scheduled to arrive in Doha, Qatar, for the final match at 11:45 p.m. local time on Thursday.
Bae Joon-ho’s absence comes as a surprise, literally. Hwang will be in Doha, Qatar, for the 2024 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-23 Asian Cup. The tournament will serve as the final Asian qualifier for the Paris Olympics. The group stage is a tough one. They”re in a group with Japan, China, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The Olympic qualifiers are harder than the World Cup. Unlike the World Cup, where you have 8.5 chapters, 바카라사이트 only the top three teams qualify directly to the Olympic Games, and the fourth place team has to play a playoff against Guinea, the fourth-place African qualifier.
The odds are stacked against them before they even start.
Hwang traveled to Europe early to assemble the best possible squad. The tournament is not an official A match as defined by FIFA, which means he can’t call up players if their clubs object. He met with team officials of key resources and asked for their cooperation. Initially, we were unable to include players such as Ko Young-joon (Partizan) and Kwon Hyuk-kyu (St. Mirren) in the roster. We chose Yang Hyun-joon (Celtic), Kim Ji-soo (Brentford), Sang-bin (Minnesota), Kim Min-woo (Düsseldorf), and Bae Jun-ho as potential overseas players. However, Yang Hyun-joon was the first to inform his club that he would not be available, followed by Kim Ji-soo. Instead, Hong Si-hoo (Incheon) and Kim Dong-jin (Pohang) were selected.
The last hope was Bae Jun-ho. Bae Jun-ho was Hwang Sun-hong’s favorite ace for the tournament, which is self-explanatory. After establishing himself as the team’s ace after joining Stoke City, Bae showed a different level of performance at the last West Asian Association Football Confederation (WAAF) U-23 Championship, where he won the title. Even then, he was asked to join his club early, so he left the team early. Coach Hwang waited until the last minute for him, but he was unavailable. A change in Stoke City’s sporting director, who had initially promised to let Bae go, added to the twists and turns, and Stoke City’s 20th place finish in the league and relegation zone proved decisive.
Stoke City made it clear that they couldn’t send their ace.
Hwang’s woes will be compounded by the fact that Bae Jun-ho is a player who can make a difference in tight defensive situations. Initially, Yang Hyun-joon and Bae Jun-ho were the two wings of the offense, but a Plan B was inevitable.
Hwang will be challenging for a spot in the Olympics without all of his key resources. Among the ligers, the core of the defense, Cho Wi-je (Busan), was out with an injury. Baek Sang-hoon (Seoul), the center of the defense, is also out of shape. After arriving in Doha on Tuesday, Hwang said, “We are facing difficulties due to issues such as overseas waves and injuries, 사설 토토사이트 but such things happen in the tournament. I will do my best to overcome the difficulties and return home with the 10th consecutive Olympic qualification.” Hwang will play her first match against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Sunday at the Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium in Doha, Qatar.