The key keyword of the national soccer team, which has to break through Singapore’s dense defense, is “early first goal.” You need to take the lead early to beat the opponent’s momentum and further achieve the expected great victory.

South Korea, led by head coach Jurgen Klinsmann, will play the first Group C match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup Asian second qualifying round against Singapore at Seoul World Cup Stadium at 8 p.m. on the 16th. 스포츠토토

Singapore, ranked 155th in FIFA rankings, is far lower in objective power than South Korea, ranked 24th. Korea has a great advantage in all-time records with 21 wins, 3 draws and 2 losses.

But if you look down on it, it will hurt your nose. Singapore, which seeks to counterattack after defending with dense defense, has resources that can hit a single shot at any time, including Song Eui-young, a naturalized player from Korea.

It is 33 years ago that Korea played against the Singapore national team, so it does not mean much. Currently, their performance can be measured indirectly through the Lion City Salers, the top-tier professional football team in Singapore.

Ryan City defeated Jeonbuk Hyundai 2-0 in the fourth match of the 2023-24 Asian Football Confederation Champions League (ACL) group stage on the 8th.

Jeonbuk was also far ahead in objective power and occupied the game, but Ryan City was the winner. In the early days, Jeonbuk failed to score the first goal even though it was leading, and it got a shot on the counterattack, and the game got twisted from here on.

Tottenham Hotspur of the English Premier League (EPL) almost fell victim to an unexpected incident. In July, he faced Ryan City through the pre-season Asia Tour, and after missing four crucial chances in the beginning, he was dragged by losing points first.

He scored four goals in the second half to win 5-1, after barely making it 1-1 with a penalty equalizer in extra time in the first half, but had a tough game in return for not scoring an early goal.

The Singapore national team includes eight players from Ryan City, including Shahwal Anoir, who scored the first goal against Tottenham at the time.

It can be expected that the Singapore national team, like Ryan City, has good defensive organization and counterattack. Therefore, if they fail to score an early first goal, the national team is likely to struggle as Jeonbuk and Tottenham did.

In the warm-up match against Vietnam in October, South Korea won a big 6-0 victory, which was largely due to Kim Min-jae’s (Bayern Munich) goal in the first five minutes.

Coach Klinsmann, who watched Ryan City beat Jeonbuk in person, said, “It was a warning to the national team,” adding, “We need to prepare seriously for the match against Singapore.” “The opponent can also score a goal at any time through set pieces or counterattacks,” he said, keeping his guard up.

Son Heung-min, who has already experienced Ryan City as a member of Tottenham, also stressed the importance of the first goal.

Son Heung-min, who was blocked by Ryan City’s defense for 45 minutes in the first half and stepped down without an offensive point, said, “There was a variable that it was a pre-season game, but Ryan City players also played very well against Tottenham. “There were some impressive players,” he recalled.

“In football, if a team goes down unconditionally, the game is very difficult regardless of the power difference. “You have to score the first goal early so that you can play the rest of the time comfortably,” he said, vowing to concentrate his efforts from the beginning.