Incheon United (Korea) will play the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Champions League (ACL) playoffs in the 2023-24 season against Haiphong FC (Vietnam) at 7:30 p.m. on the 22nd at Incheon Football Stadium. The match will be played in a single match. Incheon ranked fourth in the K League 1 last season with 54 points after Ulsan Hyundai (76 points), Jeonbuk Hyundai (73 points), and Pohang Steelers (60 points). And as second-place Jeonbuk won the FA Cup, it won the ACL playoffs. It is the first time to advance to the ACL since the foundation of Incheon.
A pre-press conference was held on the 21st, and coach Cho Sung-hwan and team representative Oh Ban-seok participated in Incheon. Coach Cho Sung-hwan said, “Incheon United will participate in the ACL to mark the 20th anniversary of its foundation. I’m personally honored as the first director to participate, but I feel unlimited responsibility. “I will make good results so that I can go to the group preliminaries that fans are looking forward to,” he said.
Coach Cho Sung-hwan has experienced ACL when he was in Jeju United. It’s been a while since we had an ACL performance. Regarding the mindset, “I feel unlimited responsibility because there has been no elimination of the K League team in the playoffs. It’s new. I prepared well in a challenging position. I’ll play a good game,” he said.
There are also players who are on the international stage for the first time. In response, “There are players who are experiencing the international stage for the first time, although it is not an away trip.” “I think he will show good enough performance by taking advantage of his home advantage,” he said. Also, “We haven’t created a combination of Best Eleven yet. Lastly, I have to think about it one more time. Tomorrow’s schedule is the most important and we have to produce results, but we can’t help but think about Friday’s game. I plan to play tomorrow’s game based on the most experienced players.
Coach Cho Sung-hwan went on a three-day business trip to analyze the match between Haiphong and the Hong Kong Rangers. When asked for an evaluation, he said, “Southeast Asian football has also risen considerably. I don’t think I can relax. I analyzed it through semi-playoffs, but I can’t evaluate it with that. In terms of league games, they are technically individual skills. Among them, the performance of foreign players accounts for a large proportion. “I think we should compare that,” he replied.
It’s been a tight game lately. Regarding whether to rotate or not, “I will do my best with the players in the best condition tomorrow.” Although there is a Suwon FC game in two days, I am well aware of the importance because it is an important game. “I will do my best 100 percent,” he said.
From the 2023-24 season, the ACL has been changed to the autumn festival, and a tight schedule will continue in the future. Head coach Cho Sung-hwan said, “If the form of the league has not changed, it is time to start the playoffs in February, and there will be a part about the weather at that time.” Since the change, I have personally earned points for advancing to Final A in the league, and I thought I could expand the pool if I was in that position. In addition, I thought I could play the schedule if I didn’t have an injury, but I’m not in the position I wanted due to the early slump. Assuming that we win tomorrow’s game, we have a few games left in the league, so we will earn a lot of points and advance to the Final A, and we will do both through rotation,” he explained.
Since it is a single-round match, various variables can occur. Regarding the game strategy, “There are 23 entries that can be used differently from the league, so we prepared various options.” We will prepare well for the flow and aspect of the game and make good results in those areas. “Since the pool has increased, we prepared a strategy by replacing the players in each situation,” he said.
A rain forecast exists. Head coach Cho Sung-hwan said, “I know it is expected to be 2-3mm.” There are concerns about players’ physical strength and injury due to weather conditions and ground conditions. He said, “I personally want to do that wisely and efficiently and play a good game.” 먹튀검증
Shin Jin-ho returned through a practice game. Regarding the possibility of participating in the Haiphong match, he said, “I played for about 70 minutes. If it was an 18-member entry, there could be an option problem in terms of physical strength or sense of the game. (Since there are 23 players) I think we should play in the second half or prepare for the match against Suwon FC with flexibility depending on the flow of the game. “It’s been a while since I came back, so think it’ll be a good game to get the atmosphere of the game,” he said.