Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Doha: Coach Shin Tae-yong has backed two-goal midfielder Moon Chang-jin to continue to make an impact at the AFC U23 Championship ahead of Korea Republic’s Group C meeting with Yemen at Suhaim Bin Hamad Stadium on Saturday.
Moon scored both goals in Wednesday’s 2-1 win over Uzbekistan in the first round of matches as the Pohang Steelers midfielder made a successful return after an injury had kept the 22-year-old on the sidelines.
“He had a serious injury playing with his club team and had to rest for four months so that was a tough time for him,” said Shin, who led Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma to the AFC Champions League title in 2010.
Match highlights: Korea Republic 2-1 Uzbekistan
“He came back to the team and is a regular member of the team and an important player. These two goals will help his attitude improve and I am satisfied and happy with his performance.”
Victory leave Korea on the verge of a place in the knockout stage, while Yemen need to win after losing 2-0 to Iraq also on Wednesday.
“We will look at our match video to find our mistakes against Iraq, but we will also watch the game between Korea and Uzbekistan in order to build our formation and strategy for the next match,” said Yemen coach Amin Al Sunaini.
Match highlights: Iraq 2-0 Yemen
Meanwhile, Iraq coach Shahad Abdulghani is preparing to make a number of changes to how his team lines up for their meeting with Uzbekistan after the defending champions made a successful start to the campaign against Yemen.
Former AFC Youth Player of the Year Mohanad Abdulraheem, who scored the winning goal in the final of the AFC U-22 Championship at the start of 2014, has been declared fit and will be available for the late game at Suhaim Bin Hamad Stadium.
“We played Yemen with a special formation, but when you play in the group stage you have to keep in mind all three matches in the group stage,” said Iraq coach Shaha Abdulghani.
“We need to watch the match between Korea and Uzbekistan to see how we will play.”
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Uzbekistan need to bounce back after losing their opening game, although coach Samvel Babayan will be without Jamshid Boltaboev after the defender was sent-off against Korea.
“In this competition each match is important and for the next game we will play well and try to make a good result from that game,” said Babayan.