“It is fortunate this is not the World Cup.”

It reached the point where even captain Son Heung-min (LAFC) said this. In a match where the opponents benched their ace and even sent out first-time call-ups, Korea conceded four goals. With less than three months remaining before the World Cup, the report card for Hong Myung-bo and his team was devastating.

The Korea national football team lost 0-4 to Cote d'Ivoire in a friendly at Stadium MK in Milton Keynes on the 28th. It was a mock exam simulating South Africa, a group-stage opponent at the World Cup. Cote d'Ivoire kept regulars such as Amad Diallo (Manchester United) in reserve as substitutes and instead started players including former France youth international Marsial Godo (Strasbourg). Against this 1.5-strength opponent, Korea conceded in the 35th minute to Evan Gesang (Crystal Palace) and again in first-half stoppage time to Simon Adingra (AS Monaco). In the second half, Son Heung-min, Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain), and Cho Gue-sung (Midtjylland) came on, but Korea instead allowed a third to Godo in the 17th minute of the half and a clincher to Wilfried Singo (Galatasaray) in stoppage time. The 1000th A-match in Korean football history ended in a heavy defeat.

Son Heung-min came on in the 58th minute and roamed tirelessly, but he did not record a goal or an assist. After the match, he bowed his head, saying, “As a substitute, even though my teammates were struggling, I could not change the momentum; in a way, that is ultimately my responsibility.” He added, “It does not make sense to say we learned through defeat at the World Cup, does it? Fans will surely be worried, but our players will feel greater responsibility and be more humble, of course accepting the feedback we need to accept, and we will train hard.”

The back three that coach Hong Myung-bo turned to was helpless against a team like Cote d'Ivoire that has several high-level wingers. Although it is a system that adds numbers at the back, both wing-backs pushed excessively high in attack, leaving effectively only three to defend. That opened vast spaces on the flanks, and Cote d'Ivoire attackers dribbled through one defender after another. Center-back Cho Yu-min (Al Sharjah), left to cope alone, made consecutive mistakes, and Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich), deployed in the center of the back three, was reduced to a passive role, only moving to cover after the flanks had already been breached. There was no chance for Kim Min-jae to showcase his greatest strength, man-marking.

Build-up play was also stilted. Even without especially intense pressing from Cote d'Ivoire, the defenders and midfielders kept turning the ball backward until it ended in a goalkeeper long ball. The absence of the injured Hwang In-beom (Feyenoord) loomed large. The front-pressing that was effective until the 20th minute was immediately neutralized when Cote d'Ivoire, using the hydration break as a turning point, switched to long balls targeting the space behind. Failing to find an in-game adjustment and conceding repeatedly in the same way laid bare a lack of tactical flexibility.

Korea did have the misfortune of hitting the woodwork three times. But that is scant consolation for a four-goal defeat. Son Heung-min pointed to positioning as an attacking task. He said, “If I have to play uncomfortably, the opponents will be uncomfortable too. In terms of positioning, I need to move to spots where it is uncomfortable to receive the ball, and that makes it harder for opponents to defend. Football ultimately changes on details. We need to correct things little by little, with attention to detail.”

Hong Myung-bo and his team play a second friendly against Austria on the 1st of next month. On the eve of the World Cup, the reality is that they crumbled like this against players who are not even the opponents' regular starters. If the structural vulnerabilities of the back three are not resolved, the team could collapse in the same fashion on the main stage as well. Time is short.