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| ▲ South Korean men's national football team defender Kim Min-jae speaks with the Korea Football Association (KFA) in an interview at Wyndham Grand Istanbul Europe in Istanbul on Jan. 23, 2022, in this photo provided by the KFA. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ South Korean defender Kim Min-jae (L) arrives at Wyndham Grand Istanbul Europe in Istanbul on Jan. 23, 2022, to join the rest of the men's national football team, in this photo provided by the Korea Football Association. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
football-defender
S. Korean defender eyes clean victories in World Cup qualifiers
By Yoo Jee-ho
SEOUL, Jan. 24 (Yonhap) -- As the rock on the South Korean defense, center back Kim Min-jae would like nothing more than to keep the upcoming opponents off the board when the country's World Cup qualifying campaign resumes this week.
Kim, center back for the Turkish club Fenerbahce, joined the men's national team training in Istanbul on Sunday (local time). South Korea will later travel to Sidon to face Lebanon on Thursday in Group A action of the final Asian qualification round for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. It will be followed by a match against Syria in Dubai as the neutral venue on Feb. 1.
South Korea are second in Group A with 14 points, two back of Iran, with four matches remaining. The top two countries from the group will earn automatic tickets to the World Cup, and South Korea can grab one with a win over Lebanon.
"We have to get the job done while we can, and it will make our life easier for the rest of the qualification round," Kim said in an interview clip shared by the Korea Football Association (KFA) on Monday. "After our last match (in November), we all talked about how we should try to book our World Cup spot as soon as we can."
South Korea have often had trouble against feisty Middle Eastern foes. In September, South Korea squeezed past Lebanon 1-0 at home, and it came five days after South Korea were held to a scoreless draw by Iraq.
"We have to score early against those teams, or we're going to be in for a long night," Kim said. "These teams tend to set up low blocks and look for counterattack chances. First and foremost, we have to keep clean sheets."
Captain Son Heung-min sat out the earlier win over Lebanon with an injury. Son will likely miss Thursday's match, too, as he is expected to miss the rest of the month for Tottenham Hotspur with a leg injury.
Son's absence may have a trickledown effect to defense, but Kim insisted he is ready for the challenge.
"I am going to have to hold down the fort on the back end," Kim said. "And if the guys on the field can communicate and stay on the same page, we shouldn't have any problem."
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