Hong Myung-bo arrives in Iraq, the land of a showdown... with the smallest number, up to 45 degrees heat
Hong Myung-bo arrives in Iraq, the land of a showdown... with the smallest number, up to 45 degrees heat
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The 'Hong Myung-bo' Korean national soccer team, which arrived in Iraq, the land of the showdown, met the biggest enemy of the 'heat'.
Coach Hong Myung-bo and the national soccer team players arrived in Basra, Iraq at 11 p.m. Korean time (5 p.m. local time) after departing Incheon International Airport on a chartered flight on the morning of the 2nd.
The first thing that greeted the national team in Iraq was the deadly heat. The temperature in Iraq at the time of arrival was 44 degrees Celsius. Moreover, it was not easy for the players to breathe because of the hot wind.
"The temperature in the region is very high. Currently, the daytime temperature is as high as 45 degrees Celsius and the evening temperature is as high as 35 degrees Celsius," an official from the Korea Football Association said. "We adjusted the training hours to be as late as possible."
Fortunately, cooperation in Iraq went well. After arriving at the airport, the team shared two bulletproof buses to move to their lodging facilities. Security vehicles and police escorted them, and road control was well established.
Players who are active in the Middle East League, including Cho Yoo-min, Kwon Kyung-won, Park Yong-woo and Won Doo-jae, arrived first and greeted the national team players at their accommodation. Lee Kang-in, who won the UEFA Champions League, will join the national team on the morning of the 3rd local time.
Hong Myung-ho leads Group B of the third Asian qualifying round for the North-China World Cup with 16 points (4 wins and 4 draws), ahead of Jordan (13 points) and Iraq (12 points).
With the first and second place in the group going straight to the World Cup finals, Hong Myung-bo will play the ninth match of the preliminary round against Iraq at 3:15 a.m. on the 6th in Basra, Iraq.
If the team wins at least a draw in the match, it will secure the second place in the group and confirm its advance to the World Cup finals for the 11th consecutive time. If the team loses to Iraq, it will likely feel burdened by its final 10th match against Kuwait at 8 p.m. on Tuesday at the Seoul World Cup Stadium.
Iraq is a travel-free country designated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Thus, the Korea Football Association formed an away team with a minimum number of participants in close cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Although the match could confirm the team's advance to the World Cup finals, no reporters accompany the team. 먹튀검증
Basra, where the game is held, is a port city in southern Iraq and is known for its relatively stable security.