In the semi-finals of the 2024 Asian Cup, South Korea failed to go further against a strong Jordanian team, and their dreams of reaching the semi-finals were shattered. Professional commentator Shin Dong-hoon expressed his deep concern about this: "The level of Asian football is developing rapidly, and we need to pay more attention to every game!" ”
Allow me to underscore that the outstanding performance of the Korean football team has earned it an indisputable place among Asian countries. Although some aspects such as hardware and athlete quality still need to be improved, there are still many outstanding football players in many parts of Asia. Of particular note are Middle Eastern powerhouses such as Qatar and Saudi Arabia, which are fully committed to promoting football, creating football academies and developing top athletes. At the same time, we have also seen the enthusiasm of Southeast Asian countries for advanced football concepts from abroad, which has made the whole region vibrant. Teams like Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand have shown us how competitive they are by achieving great results in the Asian Cup.
In order to look forward to more outstanding performances in the future Asian Cup, we need to revisit and adjust the way we overpraise some teams, and be cautious about comparing the number of teams in the World Cup qualifiers with the Asian Cup. Hopefully, we can work together and make progress together.
Since the 2002 World Cup, many of South Korea's outstanding players have chosen to pursue their careers overseas, including the likes of Park Ji-sung, Son Heung-min, Lee Gang-in and Kim Min-jae. These outstanding athletes have brought new hope and strength to the Korean national team, making its influence in global football continue to grow. Today, we are delighted to see that Korean football has achieved a number of brilliant achievements: reaching the World Cup finals multiple times, winning an Olympic bronze medal, and winning the Asian Games twice.
Even though South Korean football has been successful, Asian countries are now thriving, which deserves our respect and attention. Some experts expressed the view that South Korea should face these rising stars head-on in order to lay a more solid foundation for future progress and development.
The thought-provoking topic is that this defeat has made the South Korean team more aware of its past arrogance, and at the same time, it has also triggered an in-depth analysis and enthusiasm of the public about the Asian football landscape and team development**.
South Korea's recent fierce clash with Jordan in the Asian Cup revealed the intensity of the Asian football schedule. It is expected that South Korea will respect the region's powerhouses, actively prepare for various competitions, continue to push the limits, and improve the country's strength.
We look forward to your unique understanding of South Korea's defeat and the changing landscape of football in Asia. We sincerely welcome you to participate in this exchange of wisdom and jointly make suggestions for the future development of the AFC.
I like Lao Tie's little hand to pay attention, I am grateful.