“My plan didn’t work against Iran”: Shin Tae-yong

Tasnim – SEOUL, South Korea’s national football team’s coach Shin Tae-yong says that his plan didn’t work against Iran in the World Cup qualifying campaign at home.

South Korea failed to defeat 10-man Iran at Seoul World Cup Stadium in Group A but still remained in position to secure its ninth consecutive trip to football’s showpiece event with one match remaining in the final Asian qualifying round against Uzbekistan.

“Since we failed to score, I have to say my plan didn’t work,” he said. “We tried to turn the tide with substitutions and score a goal, but we couldn’t do it.”

“It’s a pity that we couldn’t score, but I want to thank our players who gave their best,” Shin said after the match. “I knew we were going to have a difficult match against Iran that have shrewd players with good physical abilities.”

The 48-year-old coach is known for his attacking style of football, but Shin said his team played defensively a little bit against Iran due to the visitors’ counterattack ability.

“Iran’s attackers like to run down the pitch a lot up front, so I was aware of their quick attack,” he said. “We didn’t go forward from the start, because if we conceded a goal first, we knew it was going to be a very difficult game.”