Korea aims to become first Asian Games team to win three consecutive soccer titles
Early advancement is crucial after late arrival of Lee Kang-in
"Step by step, we'll get better"

Head coach Hwang Sun-hong's men's soccer team is aiming for a third consecutive gold medal at the Asian Games.

The team will take on Kuwait at 8:30 p.m. ET on Aug. 19 at Jinhua Stadium in Zhejiang, China, 토토사이트 in their first Group E match of the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games.

The team's goal is to make history. South Korea won back-to-back gold medals at Incheon 2014 and Jakarta-Palembang 2018, and will be looking to become the first team to win three consecutive titles. Chinese Taipei, Myanmar, and Iran have won back-to-back titles, but none have won three in a row.

The soccer tournament will start a little earlier than the main event, which kicks off on the 23rd, with three group stage games before traveling to the tournament. 스포츠토토 Hwang Sun-hong left for Hangzhou on the 16th and will play his first game on the 19th.

The men's soccer tournament will feature a group stage schedule with 23 nations divided into six groups. A total of 16 teams, including the 12 first- and second-place finishers in each group and the four best third-place finishers, will compete for medals in the tournament.

The general consensus is that advancing to the tournament shouldn't be difficult. In addition to Kuwait, South Korea will face Thailand (21st) and Bahrain (24th) in the group stage, all of whom are weaker than South Korea in terms of strength.

It's not without its variables. Hwang Sun-hong is still without Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain). Just before his departure, the club reached an agreement with PSG to send him to Hangzhou after 20 days without any conditions, but it failed to organize.

No matter how good a player Lee is, he is a fatal variable in the team sport of soccer. Realistically, Lee will likely start against Bahrain. Therefore, Hwang Sun-hong will look to get two wins before Lee Kang-in arrives to secure an early berth in the tournament, and then try to match him in the third game.

Of course, they can't let their guard down. The 'Asian Tigers' were thought to be unstoppable, but they were caught off guard in their second match of the tournament against Malaysia.

In an effort to mitigate such surprises, Hwang Sun-hong will begin acclimatizing to the local conditions on Sunday and will train this evening.

Team captain Baek Seung-ho (Jeonbuk Hyundai) told reporters before his departure, "We had a short time to prepare, but we did our best and worked hard while we had it," and promised a team that will improve with each game, saying, "Even if we can't look perfect from the first game, we will show good form step by step and definitely win the gold medal." 스포츠토토맨