National soccer team coach Hong Myung-bo (55), who emphasized the importance of “discovering prospects” at his inaugural press conference, will make his first trip to Korea to watch the U-19 national team practice.
The Korea Football Association announced on Tuesday that “national team coach Hong Myung-bo will observe a practice match between the U-19 national team and Ulsan National University at the Busan World Cup Village on the 31st.”
Hong, who was appointed as the national team’s head coach on Nov. 13, traveled to Europe from Nov. 15 to 25 to interview foreign coaching staff candidates and talk with European players.
On the 29th, Hong held his inaugural press conference at the Jongno Football Hall in Jongno-gu, Seoul, where he emphasized that he would “actively develop young prospects who will become valuable members of Korean football.”
As such, Hong chose to attend the U-19 national team’s practice match as his first domestic trip as head coach.
The U-19 team, coached by Lee Chang-won, will convene in Busan on Aug. 29 and will train until Aug. 3.
The U-19s are preparing for the 2025 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-20 Asian Cup and the 2025 FIFA U-20 World Cup next year.
Heading into the AFC U-20 Asian Cup qualifiers in Kuwait in September, the U-19s were drawn in Group C with Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kuwait and the Northern Mariana Islands.
The U-19s, who began training the day before, will kick off their campaign with a practice match against Ulsan University at the Busan World Cup Village at 4 p.m. on the 31st.
Hong, who emphasized the importance of developing prospects and linking them to the age-group national teams during his inaugural press conference, chose to attend the U-19s’ practice match as his first stop in Korea. 카지노사이트 추천