Published : Aug. 11, 2016 - 10:42
The South Korean Olympic men's football coach on Wednesday praised his players for reaching the quarterfinals at the Rio de Janeiro Games, saying that the fans can now expect even better results.
South Korea, led by coach Shin Tae-yong, edged the defending champions Mexico 1-0 in their last Group C contest in Brasilia that day to join the last eight. The young Taeguk Warriors won the group with two wins and a draw, their best group stage performance ever at the Olympics.
Park Hae-mook/The Korea Herald
For the first time, South Korea have advanced to the quarterfinals in two consecutive Olympics. At the 2012 London Games, South Korean won the bronze medal, their first Olympic medal in football.
"I just want to thank my boys for reaching the quarters," Shin said at a post-match press conference at Mane Garrincha Stadium. "I think the fans can expect better results from us."
South Korea only needed a draw against Mexico to punch their tickets to the last eight. They will face Honduras, the Group D runners-up, in the quarterfinals in Belo Horizonte at 7 p.m. Saturday.
"This kind of match is really difficult," Shin said. "Even though we told ourselves a victory is needed, we knew a draw would be enough, and this could affect our gameplay."
Shin's side played to a 2-2 draw with Honduras at a friendly football tournament in South Korea on June 4. The coach, however, said Honduras have become stronger than in the past.
"We know them, but I believe Honduras also have a grasp of how to deal with us now," he said. "Considering that they didn't back off and scored a goal against Argentina, my impression is that Honduras got stronger than they were in the friendly tournament."
South Korea had five players in the back in the first half against Mexico, but they managed to come back aggressively in the latter half. Midfielder Kwon Chang-hoon scored the winner in the 77th minute to send South Korea to the quarters, but Shin said he didn't like the players moving back against the opponents.
"We played a normal game, but I don't want our players backing off against our opponents," he said. "Having three central defenders can't be our main tactic. We will play with our usual tactics, and we will be flexible (in the next match)." (Yonhap)