In the late afternoon of April 8, the country's
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The team will meet their opponents in Goyang, South Korea
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The first round of the Asian qualifying playoffs for the Tokyo Olympics will take place. The clash is the first of many between the country's
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Its first appearance on the international stage since more than a year and its first international tournament in a year. In this battle, our
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Whether or not they can win and lay a solid foundation for the rest of the home tournament has become the focus of fans' attention. Meanwhile, South Korea
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The skipper of the team, Bell, has made it clear in the pre-match press conference that he is determined to lead his team to the Olympics by defeating our team, "I'm eager to make history!"
Due to the epidemic, the pre-match press conference was held as an online video conference, with the head coach taking questions from reporters remotely. Although South Korea
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Having reached the last 16 of the World Cup on three occasions, they never made it to the Olympics. Bale said at the conference, "That's the biggest motivation for us to compete (on the 8th)! I know it very well. At the same time, we haven't played an official game for over a year and I'm desperate to get back on the pitch. These two games will decide our fate and we will give it our all and try to enter the Olympics with a positive attitude."
Bell revealed that South Korea
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In good shape since the March 22 training session, "I have been focusing on defense and strengthening training. My country
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They have more control and initiative in the game, more skill, more physical conditioning, and more time to prepare. They are a passionate team. We must be well prepared. I also understand that the match on the 8th is bound to be a close one."
Currently, three players playing for England - Ji Xiaoran (Chelsea) and Lee Jin-woong (Brighton) - have returned to the team, while Cho Cho Cho-hyeon, who plays for Tottenham Hotspur, arrived in South Korea yesterday (6th) and will meet with the team today (7th) to start training. In response, Bale said, "Due to the short window of national team competition set by FIFA, I am very happy that Ji Xiaoran and Lee Jin-gyeong were able to return to the team ahead of schedule. Therefore, I would like to thank the team for their efforts. The individual efforts and strengths of overseas players should not be underestimated, and they can make a difference to the whole team. It has been a year since the Korean team has been able to participate in an official tournament, so the absence of overseas players has left the core of the team in the domestic players. And their arrival makes the team more united."
Ji Xiaoran, who attended the conference together, said, "As my head coach said, I am eager to rewrite history. I have been preparing for this tournament for more than a year, and I hope to do well in these two matches and get a ticket to the Olympics. We have watched a lot of game footage and had a lot of exchanges between players, and we all harbor a strong desire to go to the Tokyo Olympics!"
