Hong Myung-bo, who led the national team training for the first time in 10 years, "Feels excited but also afraid"

Hong Myung-bo, who led the national team training for the first time in 10 years, "Feels excited but also afraid"

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Coach Hong Myung-Bo, who led the training of the Korean national soccer team for the first time in 10 years, confessed that he felt both excitement and 'fear'.

The national soccer team led by coach Hong Myung-bo completed its first training session in preparation for the two consecutive matches of the third round of Asian qualifying for the 2026 North and Central America World Cup at Goyang Stadium in Gyeonggi Province on the afternoon of the 2nd.

For Coach Hong, this is his first national team training in 10 years and 3 months.

Coach Hong's last training session with the national team was held before the third group match against Belgium in the 2014 Brazil World Cup, when the team failed to advance to the round of 16.

Coach Hong, who appeared in front of reporters before the training, said, "I had many thoughts as I left home. It's been 10 years since I've stood on the field as the national team coach, so I'm a bit excited," but "on the other 한국을 hand, I'm also a bit scared."

Director Hong continued, "I guess it's because I had experienced it before, so there's fear coming from that... I didn't feel that way back then, but I feel that fear a lot this time. It seems like a huge difference from 10 years ago."

He continued, "I was able to come to this place again because I invested time and effort to not dwell on failure, but to continue to overcome it, and learned a lot," adding, "I also feel a bit grateful (for the failure 10 years ago)."

Son Heung-min (Tottenham), who was in the spotlight as the national team's 'next-generation ace' during the Brazil World Cup, is now the national team's 'captain'. He has grown into a 'giant' representing Asian soccer beyond Korea.

Coach Hong said about how to use Son Heung-min, "What Son Heung-min likes and is best at is spreading out on the left side and utilizing the space in front of him, and I know that well."

He continued, "I think that combinations with other players are extremely important," and added, "We will consider the overall fatigue of the players who returned from the matches (in Europe) and come up with a solution tomorrow."

Coach Hong, who has always emphasized the 'one-team spirit', said that he would focus on 'cohesion' at the first team meeting.