Korea Beats Egypt in Friendly But Defensive Woes Continue

Korea beat Egypt 4-1 in a friendly match in Seoul on Tuesday ahead of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar in November.

Despite scoring no goals, Son Heung-min of Tottenham Hotspur proved his indispensability to the national team with his passing. Korea was able to take the lead in the 16th minute when Son sent a long pass to Kim Jin-su near the left corner, which was followed by a cross from Kim to Hwang Ui-jo of FC Girondins de Bordeaux, who headed in a goal.

The second goal a few minutes later also started with Son, whose corner kick was headed down by Hwang before Kim Young-gwon netted a diving header. Cho Gue-sung added another goal in the 85th minute, and Kwon Chang-hoon's header in injury time sealed Korea's 4-1 victory.

Missing key defenders like Kim Min-jae of Fenerbahçe S.K. and Jung Woo-young of Al Sadd due to injuries, Korea, led by manager Paulo Bento, increased its defensive lineup in order to overcome weaknesses exposed in previous friendly matches this month against Brazil, Chile and Paraguay.

But the change had little effect, as Korea remained helpless in the 38th minute, allowing a goal to Egypt despite the presence of eight Korean defenders nearby, who couldn't prevent Egyptian forward Mostafa Mohamed from scoring.

Moreover, there were multiple times when Egyptian players, who possess great individual skills, were allowed to penetrate the defense. With Egypt's squad missing some key players including Mohamed Salah of Liverpool, the match was less than satisfying.

Bento said he will look over areas that need to be improved.