DOHA– After watching underdogs Saudi Arabia stun the football world with a 2-1 win over Argentina at the FIFA World Cup on Tuesday, South Korean defender Kim Jin-su came away inspired.
With South Korea’s first Group H match against favored Uruguay just two days away, Kim said he felt convinced his team could join the party.
“As you all know, favored teams can lose, and underdogs can win any day in football,” Kim said at a press conference before a training session at Al Egla Training Site in Doha. Kim met with the media only minutes after Saudi Arabia, world No. 51, staged the first upset of this year’s tournament over the third-ranked Argentina at Lusail Stadium, just north of the Qatari capital.
“Since Saudi Arabia won as an Asian team, I think there’s hope for us, too,” Kim continued. “We just have to go out and win.”
Kim expects pto be part of that match Thursday, win or lose, after shaking off a recent hamstring injury.
Kim has been one of South Korea’s unluckiest football players in recent years, having missed out on the past two World Cups with injuries suffered just prior to those big tournaments.
The injury bug appeared to bite him once again leading up to this year’s competition, as the 30-year-old left fullback suffered a hamstring injury playing for Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors in late October.
Despite being sidelined for South Korea’s final training camp at home from late October to early November, Kim was still named to the country’s 26-man squad for the World Cup. He has been mostly limited in training sessions in Doha, but Kim said Tuesday he has no physical problems to speak of.
“I am doing everything I can to get ready,” Kim said. “The coaching staff has taken great care of me.”
Kim said he has taken some moments to reflect on the years past, and realized how those near-misses for the World Cup have shaped him as a football player and a person.
“I don’t know if I will get to play, but I can’t wait to find out how I’d feel standing on the field,” Kim said. “I am going to be honest about my feelings. Maybe I will shed tears. If I can play well and help the team win, I think I will be rewarded after all the painful moments I had to go through.”
Source: Yonhap News Agency