Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Nay Pyi Taw: Coach Kim Sang-ho is convinced that his Korea Republic team are right on track for a successful defence of their AFC U-19 Championship title ahead of their Group C clash with fellow East Asian powerhouse China on Saturday, after a confidence-boosting 6-0 victory in their tournament opener against Vietnam.
The 12-times champions put the rest of the tournament on notice in their comprehensive victory against the Southeast Asians on Thursday, which featured five different players getting their names on the score sheet in a performance of impressive attacking power.
And although China, too, achieved an excellent result on Matchday One in the day's other game with a 2-1 victory over arch rivals Japan at Wunna Theikdi Stadium, Kim believes that his team will come out on top.
"Having won our opening match, our next tie against China is just one of the next five games we intend to play on the way to the final – that's our target," said coach Kim (pictured).
"Every match and every team now is important; I hope that we can secure three points in this game to secure a quarter-final place ahead of schedule."
Kim may, however, be without forward Kim Young-gyu who exited the game against Vietnam in the first half with a back injury.
"Kim Young-gyu had some back muscle pain and he didn't seem that good so we changed him," added coach Kim.
"But we have 23 players who all have ability and everyone is ready to play - anyone can be in the first eleven in this team - so I will put the best players in to get the points in the next game."
Opposite number Zheng Xiong, although buoyed from his side's victory over Japan on Thursday, also has injury concerns with midfielder Cheng Jin withdrawn just after the hour-mark to be replaced by Zhang Xiuwei.
"Cheng Jin took a knock in the first half and we asked him at half-time if he was OK and he insisted to play on, but in the second half it was clear he needed to come off," said Zheng.
"I hope he can play against Korea but we'll need to see the doctor's advice about that on match day.
"His replacement Zhang Xiuwei, though, is also normally a first eleven player. In fact, he might have started if he hadn't got a slight injury two days ago, so I know he can also do a good job."
In Saturday's other game in Group C, Japan will face Vietnam at Wunna Theikdi Stadium with both teams keen to bounce back from disappointing opening day defeats.
Japan coach Masakazu Suzuki, in particular, will be keen to improve on the wayward finishing that plagued the Samurai Blue in their surprise 2-1 loss to China.
"We lost against China because of our mistakes and lack of composure in front of goal," said Suzuki.
"It's not about what our opponents do so much, it's more whether we can prevent those similar mistakes against Vietnam, and play our game with better tempo and rhythm – if we can do this then hopefully we can beat them."
For Vietnam coach Guillaume Graechen, meanwhile, it's not about improving the footballing qualities of his players, following their morale-sapping 6-0 defeat to Korea, but issues with the mental aspect of the game.
"It's not about the tactics and it's not about the technique, it's all about the need for psychological improvement for my team," said the Frenchman.
"In the second half against Korea it was like a bomb went off in my team.
"We have just one day between games so it will be difficult to correct many problems, especially as sorting out the mental side is very hard to do, but we will try our best."