Hwang pleased with Korea Republic improvement, China PR display satisfies Cheng

Doha: When his side headed into the break with a one goal lead against China PR on Friday at the Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium, Korea Republic head coa...

Doha: When his side headed into the break with a one-goal lead against China PR on Friday at the Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium, Korea Republic head coach Hwang Sun-hong admitted he was a worried man at that point in time.

That was after their Group B opponents in the AFC U23 Asian Cup Qatar 2024™ had come close to scoring on numerous occasions, some as a result of defensive lapses, even if Lee Young-jun had broken the deadlock in the 35th minute with their only effort on target.

It led to Hwang making much-needed adjustments to Korea Republic’s tactics and he was rewarded with an improved display after the restart, which saw the 2020 champions run out 2-0 winners.

“The first half was very tough for us and there were some bad situations, so I tried to make changes to the existing gameplan and strategy, in terms of our buildup and team organisation, and the players responded to my instructions,” the 55-year-old said. “And by replacing a couple of players in the second half, we produced good results and the players performed according to my plan.

“It was a tough match and we made mistakes today… We will look back on the game and will work on the things that need to be improved.”