Hwang Seon-hong will try to win his third straight Asian Games men’s soccer title when he faces the toughest home team in the quarterfinals, China. On October 1, at 9 p.m. local time, the South Korean Under-24 National Team will take on China in the quarterfinals of the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games at the Huanglong Sports Center Stadium in Hangzhou. So far, Hwang Sun-hong has played “flawless football” in both results and content .From the group stage to the round of 16, he has scored 21 goals and conceded just one. Even against teams that only play a “two-line defense,” he has consistently scored multiple goals, and in the round of 16 against Kyrgyzstan, he has shown the ability to come back from a goal down to win the game. However, China will be a tougher test .The Chinese are notorious for playing rough. Hwang Seon-hong played two exhibition games against China in June as part of their acclimatization to Hangzhou, and lost Uhm Won-sang (Ulsan), Cho Young-wook (Gimcheon), and Ko Young-joon (Pohang) to injuries. Even if they win, it would be a shame to lose a key player in Hwang Sun-hong to China’s tough tackling. The lack of a video assistant referee (VAR) in this tournament adds to the anxiety. There are fears that Chinese players will commit ‘unsportsmanlike conduct’ out of the referee’s sight. The worst-case scenario is that the Korean players get too excited and make a ‘big mistake’. Hwang will also have to deal with one-sided support from the home fans. October 1 is the National Day, China’s biggest holiday, and the 50,000-seat stadium is likely to be filled with Chinese fans chanting “jiaoyou” (加油).There’s also the matter of ‘adapting to the new ground’ .Huang has played all four of his matches so far at Jinhua Stadium in Jinhua, a city outside Hangzhou. Only in China will he experience a different venue for the first time .That’s not the only concern. The fact that China will be without two of their key players is a good thing. Wildcard midfielder Gao Tianyi will not be able to play alongside Huang Sunhong due to accumulated cautions .In addition, key defender Zhang Sunrong was sent off in the last minute clash between Qatar and South Korea in the round of 16, so he will also be unavailable. There is no bad news for Hwang Sun-hong’s ‘power’ .Wildcard center back Park Jin-seob (Jeonbuk) returns to the lineup after being sent off for intentional “card laundering” in the final group game. ‘Golden Boy’ Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain), who joined the team midway through the tournament, is gradually integrating into the team, and Song Min-gyu (Jeonbuk), who has been injured, is regaining his energetic breakthrough. “We can’t win the gold medal unless we can overcome the pressure of a large crowd and rough play,” Hwang said after the round of 16 match, adding, “No one can stand 바카라사이트 in our way. We have three steps left, and we will take them one by one.”
