The striker who is trusted a little more by coach Jurgen Klinsmann appears to be Cho Kyu-sung.
The Korean national soccer team, led by Coach Klinsmann, won 1-0 in the September A-match friendly against Saudi Arabia held at St. James Park in Newcastle, England, at 1:30 a.m. on the 13th (Korean time). With this, Coach Klinsmann reported his first win in his 6th game since taking office.
It was Cho Gyu-seong who saved Director Klinsmann from a crisis. Cho Gyu-seong, who played as a starter, scored in the 32nd minute of the first half. As Lee Jae-seong started attacking from the right, Jo Gyu-seong infiltrated the gate. When Son Heung-min missed Lee Jae-seong’s pass and struck again, Hwang In-beom tried to deliver the pass to Son Heung-min. Saudi defender Ali Al Bulahi failed to properly block Hwang In-beom’s pass, and Cho Gyu-seong received it and finished with a header.
Korea was able to win by keeping Cho Kyu-sung’s score well. Through this game, Cho Kyu-sung appears to be firmly establishing himself in the striker position, which was subject to endless competition. When Coach Klinsmann took office, it was difficult to predict which player would be selected as the starting striker.
From March to June, the starting striker continued to change. Until the last game in June, against El Salvador, Cho Gyu-seong, Hwang Ui-jo, and Oh Hyun-gyu took turns playing, and no one was able to gain the upper hand.
But this September was different. Cho Kyu-seong appeared as a starter for two consecutive games. In the last game against Wales, Korea’s performance was poor and Cho Kyu-sung was not outstanding, but in this game, even if he was lucky, Cho Kyu-sung was able to score.
It cannot be said that Cho Gyu-sung has an unconditional advantage with this score. Hwang Ui-jo is still an experienced striker. He is seeking to turn his career around by moving to Norwich City after falling out of competition at Nottingham Forest. Oh Hyun-gyu has also just returned from injury, and is expected to receive ample opportunities at Celtic, so his growth is expected. These are two players with the competitive edge to compete at any time.
Still, it is true that as of now, Cho Kyu-seong is the player who shows the best competitiveness in both his team and the national team. If he maintains his scoring ability in Midtjylland until October, he will likely get a chance to be selected first.
What is disappointing is Coach Klinsmann’s method of using strikers. Coach Klinsmann is only entrusting the traditional 9th striker role to the strikers, including Kyu-seong Cho. Right now, Cho Gyu-seong didn’t just develop his role as a scorer through Gimcheon Sangmu and Jeonbuk Hyundai.안전놀이터
Linkage play that takes advantage of the movements of second-line colleagues has also been improved. Cho Kyu-sung himself is a player who moves a lot, so when he runs into space and shakes up the defense, players like Son Heung-min and Hwang Hee-chan rush into the space created by Jo Kyu-sung, creating many threatening scenes. It was in this context that Cho Gyu-seong was selected by coach Paulo Bento.
However, it feels like Cho Kyu-seong, Hwang Ui-jo, and Oh Hyun-gyu are only staying near the penalty box. All three players have different strengths, but the methods of utilizing them are similar. Naturally, it is difficult for players to display 100% of their strengths. While his scoring power is serious with 5 goals in 6 games, Coach Klinsmann also needs to think about how to use strikers.