There is nowhere left to retreat. After the 0-4 defeat to Ivory Coast, Hong Myung-bo's team faces Austria in the final dress rehearsal before the World Cup.
The South Korea national soccer team, led by coach Hong Myung-bo, will play a friendly against Austria on the 1st (Korean time) at Ernst Happel Stadium in Vienna, Austria. It is effectively the last real-game check before the June 2026 CONCACAF World Cup.
Before the match, Korea revealed the starting lineup. Korea will again start in a 3-4-3 formation. Lee Jae-sung, Son Heung-min and Lee Kang-in will lead the attack, and Kim Jin-gyu and Baek Seung-ho will fill the midfield. Kim Ju-seong, Kim Min-jae and Lee Han-beom will make up the back three, and Lee Tae-seok and Seol Young-woo will start at the wing-back positions. Kim Seung-gyu will guard the goal.
Austria will counter with a 4-2-3-1 formation. Marko Arnautović will occupy the front, and Patrick Wimmer, Marcel Sabitzer and Christoph Baumgartner will line up on the three attacking midfield positions. Xaver Schlager and Paul Wanner will take the midfield, and Philipp Mwene, Philipp Lienhart, Marco Friedl and Konrad Laimer will form the back four. Patrick Pentz will wear the goalkeeper gloves.
Coach Hong Myung-bo said at the pregame news conference, "We will not deviate significantly from what we are doing now." Despite the heavy defeat to Ivory Coast, he indicated he would maintain the three-back approach.
Austria is a more organized team than Ivory Coast. Under coach Ralf Rangnick, they emphasize strong forward pressing and quick transitions between defense and offense. They recorded a 5-1 rout in the recent match against Ghana. Their FIFA ranking is lower than Korea's, but in terms of team cohesion they can be a more difficult opponent.
Austria is a team that relentlessly attacks the flanks and half-spaces. If Korea keeps the three-back system, the burdens on Seol Young-woo and Kim Moon-hwan will increase significantly. The midfield also must withstand the opponent's pressure. If they are easily pushed back like in the last match, even if there are many defenders, goals conceded could increase again.
The match against Austria is not a simple friendly. It is the final test to see whether this tactic will truly work ahead of the World Cup.
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