The Koreans have yet to claim a point in their first two games but still harbour the slimmest of hopes of finishing second, with a victory over the Germans by two goals and a Swedish defeat at the hands of Mexico in the day’s other match required to take the Taeguk Warriors into the last 16.
But with the Mexico reversal the Koreans’ second straight loss following an agonising defeat by Sweden in their opener, Lee is not confident he and his teammates can advance to the knockout phase for the first time since 2010.
“I’m very disappointed that we have little chance to proceed to the last 16,” said the Hellas Verona midfielder, who came off the bench in the 64th minute for his second FIFA World Cup appearance.
“If Son Heung-min’s goal was scored a little earlier we could have had the chance to score another goal, but we will try our best in the last match against Germany as we have planned.”
Carlos Vela’s penalty turned an even game in favour of the Mexicans in the 26th minute before Javier Hernandez doubled his side’s lead with a neat finish in the 66th minute, ensuring Son’s fine injury time strike from outside the area was little more than a consolation for Korea Republic.
The performance left Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors’ Lee Jae-sung despondent, with the midfielder shouldering some of the blame for his team’s performance.
“It’s shame that I reached my limit. Our team overcame many difficulties during the final round of qualification to be here in Russia. There’s one match is left, and we’re going to try to do our best against Germany.
“From this World Cup experience, we players can have a chance to improve ourselves. It’s important to try to do our best as always.”
Despite the defeat, Hwang Hee-chan is confident Korea Republic are capable of competing at the World Cup level and he thanked his team’s fans for their backing throughout the tournament so far.
“We lost but we’re very happy with all support we have received from Korean football fans both in Korea and in Russia,” he said.
“Mexico were very strong, as we expected, but we could have had a chance to beat them. It’s a shame we didn’t.
“I think the physical aspects and the mentality of our team are good enough to compete on a stage like the World Cup. If our skill improves we could get better results in the near future.
“I wasn’t worried by Mexico’s skilful play, but in that aspect I think Mexico were better than us.”
