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What: 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier
When: Thursday, September 5th
Where: Seoul, Korea Republic | Seoul World Cup Stadium
Kickoff: 1400 Jerusalem Time
TV/Streaming: Subscribe to Football Palestine on Substack (Free) to receive a streaming link to your inbox on hour before kickoff
Previous Encounters: None.
Korean National Team Drama continues
As successful World Cup qualification campaigns are concerned there are no other teams in Asia that can hold a candle to the Taeguk Warriors who last failed to qualify for the World Cup in 1982.
Hong Mynug-bo will be the fourth manager to lead the team in 2024 alone and the appointment of the former Ulsan coach has done little to calm the anger of the fans who are baying for the blood of KFA President Chung Mong-gyu.
Chung has served as the KFA President since 2013 and should be on his way out but since dictatorial tendencies seem to be a prerequisite to take charge of any FA in the world he is now in the process of scheming for an exception to get a third term.
The KFA boss is also expected to testify in front of the National Assembly in regards to the controversial appointment of Hong Myung-bo. The former national team captain was brought back for a second stint in charge with seemingly little consultation of the board who had recommended a slew of foreign names including Herve Renard, Jesse Marsch, and David Wagner to name a few.
Chung was already under fire for unilaterally appointing Jürgen Klinsmann- a man known for his tactical shortcomings- to the post last year. That predictably ended in disaster with Korea exiting the Asian Cup at the hands of Jordan whilst failing to register a single shot on target. The German’s botched handling of the table tennis incident and his refusal to reside in Korea or scout the K-League meant the KFA had no choice but to fire him following the conclusion of the tournament.
Fans are understandably fed up and want to see Chung Mong-gyu gone. The appointment of Hong Myung-bo will have only made these calls louder. Especially given the fact that the former Ulsan HD coach did not even want the job and that his last stint as Korea boss ended with him being pelted with candy upon the team’s group stage exit at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
Hong Myung-Bo’s Approach
For all the negativity surrounding his appointment- it is worth noting that Hong Myung-bo is no slouch. The former defender played at four World Cup finals, led his team to a fourth place finish on home soil in 2002, and has over 130 caps for his country.
Hong might have taken his lumps as a manager with the aforementioned World Cup failure and relegation from the Chinese Super League with Hangzhou but he has had his fair share of success. Korea won a bronze medal at the 2012 Olympics under his tenure and his work with Ulsan speaks for itself.
Korea’s match against Palestine will be a challenge for Korea mainly due to the lack of time to prepare for the match. Korea’s full squad will gather on September 2nd leaving them with less than 72 hours to prepare for their first match under new management.
In spite of an array of attacking talent the team struggled at home under interim bosses against Thailand (1-1) and China (a 1-0 win). Perhaps Hong’s charisma can coax Korea’s array of attacking talent to play up to its potential in a tricky September window that has seen Korea slip up before. In 2022 World Cup qualification, Korea drew Iraq 0-0 at home and then laboured to a 1-0 win over Lebanon five days later. In the edition before that, Korea nearly threw away a 3-0 lead against China in an eventual 3-2 win.
Palestine will hope a good amount of rust will clog the gears of Hong Myung-bo’s well oiled machine. Tactically, the former sweeper is expected to deploy the 4-2-3-1 formation that delivered Ulsan back-to-back K-League titles.
Hong likes to dominate possession and builds out the back with his centre backs splitting out wide to collect an easy goal kick. The defenders then look to combine with the midfield pivots to build the attack as fullbacks flood forward to create a numerical imbalance. Those fullbacks have license to cross early and often. In fact, Ulsan’s leftback Lee Myung-jae has consistently led the league for crosses executed from the fullback position. In spite of only having one cap to his name and suffering a dip in form he has been included in Hong’s debut squad.
Helping with the transition is the fact that Korea’s starting goalkeeper Jo Hyeon-woo along with centreback Kim Yong-gwon, and midfielder Jung Woo-young are Ulsan players well versed in Hong’s tactical set up.
Joining them is striker Joo Min-kyu who was handed a debut against Singapore earlier this year at the ripe old age of 34. All four Ulsan players are expected to start with Red Star Belgrade’s Seol Yong-Woo starting at right back and Bayern Munich’s Kim Min-jae anchoring the defence. In midfield another Red Star Belgrade player Hwang In-beom will play as one of the pivots. The attacking trio of Lee Jae-sung (Mainz 05), Lee Kang-in (PSG), and Son Heung-min (Tottenham) will all start in a 4-2-3-1 formation that can be adjusted to a 4-3-3.
Amid Mahajna controversially suspended
Sources in the Palestine Football Association have informed Football Palestine that they were informed of Amid Mahajna’s ineligibility for the Korea game due to card accumulation. It seems that the Musmus native has been inexplicably suspended in accordance with these laws of the Asian Football Confederation’s Code of Ethics:
Two (2) cautions received during the same Match incur an expulsion (indirect red
card) and automatic suspension from the next Match in the same competition (cf.
Article 13.4). The two (2) cautions that caused the expulsion are rescinded.
12.3. If a Player receives a caution in two (2) separate Matches of the same AFC competition, he is automatically suspended from the next Match in that competition unless the competition regulations provide otherwise.
Mahajna had picked up a late yellow card in the first game against Bangladesh and then was sent off in Dhaka for gently moving Rakib Hossain one meter off the pitch. Upon exiting the premises of the field Rakib sprung to his feet in protest prompting the Tajik ref Nasrulo Kabirov to dish out a yellow.
Six seconds passed from the first to the last frame captured above. It was a ridiculous sending off, but with a match served for suspension and with a new phase of qualification starting in September, Mahajna was fielded against Australia where he picked up another yellow. The rules and regulations of the 2027 AFC Asian Cup state:
Single cautions issued in the Preliminary Joint Qualification for the FIFA World Cup 2026
and AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027™ will not be carried over to the Qualifiers. Match
suspensions resulting from cautions issued in different matches of the Preliminary Joint
Qualification for the FIFA World Cup 2026 and AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027™ will not
be carried over to the Qualifiers.
So there would have been amnesty given to the player had Palestine’s next comeptitive match been in stand alone Asian Cup qualifying as opposed to stand alone World Cup qualifying. There is no mention of rescinding yellow cards when they result in a red card in FIFA’s World Cup preliminary competition guidelines.
It is unlikely that the Palestine Football Association will be able to appeal the decision.
Palestine hope to mask defensive deficiency
On paper, Palestine rode its defensive solidity en route to two historic achievements in 2024. In the team’s last ten competitive matches they kept five clean sheets. With the exception of the dead rubber against Australia only one goal had passed through it net in World Cup qualification.
The reality is however that Palestine have experienced an issue with centreback depth that needed Abdelatif Bahdari to extend his career to provide cover. Long gone are the days of 2014 when Palestine qualified for its first Asian Cup by rotating the aforementioned Bahdari, Omar Jarun, Haitham Dheeb, and Khaled Mahdi.
Palestine’s top three choices at the position are all without clubs. Mohammed Saleh has been left out of the squad. Amid Mahajna is suspended. So it is a near lock for Yaser Hamed Mayor and Michel Termanini to start.
For Palestine to get anything out of this match both players will need to do their upmost to keep Korea’s attackers at bay. A lack of real-life matches will only make that task even more difficult.
Makram Daboub will most likely include no more than four players who did not participate in the camp. Goalkeeper Rami Hamadi, Midfielder Ataa Jaber, and the attacking duo of Oday Dabbagh and Wessam Abou Ali.
The longer Palestine can keep the score at 0-0 the more even this contest becomes. Make no mistake, Korea are a veteran side with seven of the anticipated starting eleven over the age of 30 and well versed in the challenges of World Cup qualifying. A red-hot Wessam Abou Ali should solve Palestine’s recent troubles with chance conversion but the team will need to play a near perfect game to match the Taeguk Warriors.
A mutinous crowd upset at the Korean Football Association and a small contingent of Palestine supporters put together by Korea’s BDS movement might just help Palestine escape Seoul with points to their name.
