South Korea coach wary of upstart Indonesia at Olympics soccer qualifiers
The number of traffic deaths in South Korea dropped to a record low of around 2,500 last year, nearly half the figure recorded a decade ago, data showed.
A total of 2,551 people died from road accidents in 2023, a 6.7 percent decline from the 2,735 deaths recorded the previous year, according to the National Police Agency.
It marks an 81 percent drop compared with 1991, when the death toll hit the highest at 13,429, and nearly half the rate from a decade ago, when fatalities from vehicle crashes stood at 5,092 in 2013.
However, the total number of accidents and injuries saw a slight increase on-year, recording 198,296 accidents and 283,799 injuries. Both figures showed a hike of 0.7 percent. (Yonhap)
Source: National Police Agency
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On paper, South Korea should have little trouble handling Indonesia when they clash in the first knockout match of the Olympic men’s soccer qualifying tournament later this week in Qatar.
But South Korea head coach Hwang Sun-hong understands soccer is played on the pitch, not on paper. He wants his players to be on their toes Thursday night when the two countries square off in the quarterfinals of the Asian Football Confederation U-23 Asian Cup.
Indonesia being coached by former South Korea boss Shin Taeyong will only add to the intrigue.
This meeting was set up after South Korea defeated Japan 1-0 Monday afternoon to clinch the top seed in Group B with nine points. Indonesia secured the runner-up spot out of Group A on Sunday by beating Jordan 4-1, their second win in the group phase.
This AFC tournament doubles as the Asian qualifiers for the Paris Olympics. The top three teams — the two finalists and the winner of the third-place match — will grab their tickets to France, while the fourthplace team will fall to an intercontinental playoff against Guinea.
The quarterfinal showdown, then, is a must-win match for both teams. South Korea will try to extend their Olympic appearance streak to 10, while Indonesia will eye a return to the quadrennial competition for the first time since 1956.
Hwang thanked his players for executing their game plan against Japan but otherwise did not see much cause for celebration yet.
“The real competition begins now, and we have to be prepared against Indonesia,” Hwang said at Jassim bin Hamad Stadium in Al Rayyan,
Deaths
Graphic by Nam Kyung-don
Injuries
For inquiries regarding the use of The Korea Herald’s Graphic News, please contact sabinalee@heraldcorp.com west of Doha. “They won’t be an easy team to play against, and we have to work really hard to accomplish our goal.”
Midfielder Kim Min-woo, who scored the 75th-minute winner against Japan, offered an early scouting report on Indonesia.
“Their players are energetic, and they cover a lot of ground,” he said. “They can make some quick onetwo passes.”
Hwang, 55, and Shin, 53, are no strangers to each other. Their playing days overlapped in the 1990s, as they carved out wildly successful club and international careers. The two have been talking and texting each other throughout this competition in Qatar.
“We chatted before our Japan match, and we talked about how we could potentially meet each other in the quarterfinals. That has become a reality,” Hwang said. “I’ve been pleasantly surprised to see how coach Shin has built a really good team with Indonesia. They’ve been playing really well, and we’ll have to be well prepared to be able to beat them.”
Hwang said he was able to do some experimenting, as far as lineup combinations and substitution patterns, against Japan. While Hwang understood the magnitude of any Korea-Japan rivalry match, he also tried not to place too much importance on this particular showdown because both countries had already secured their knockout spots beforehand. (Yonhap)