"Turning Regret into Motivation"... Taeguk Warriors Back in Action

[Anchor]

Moving on to World Cup news. After yesterday's (June 19) disappointing loss, our national team is now preparing for the final group stage match against South Africa. With a strong possibility of advancing to the Round of 32 still on the table, the team is determined to pour everything they have into the next game without losing confidence.

We go first to Guadalajara, where Lee Jeong-Chan reports.

[Reporter]

Putting the frustration of the one-goal loss behind them, our players have started running again with energetic applause.

Players who had relatively less playing time showed more vitality, and Eom Ji-sung’s determination, in particular, stood out.

Eom came on as a substitute in the second half of yesterday's match and created the team's most threatening moment with a sharp cross aimed at Cho Gue-sung.

[Eom Ji-sung/National Football Team Midfielder: Even in that short amount of time, I think the memory of the Ghana match (at the Qatar World Cup) crossed my mind. I think it was just luck that I couldn't capitalize on that chance. If it had gone just a little bit to the side, it could have been a goal.]

Although Cho Gue-sung’s header did not find the back of the net like it did in the Qatar tournament four years ago, the team plans to use this regret as fuel to run even harder in the match against South Africa.

[Eom Ji-sung/National Football Team Midfielder: It served as a great motivation for how I should approach the next game. Our confidence hasn't dropped, and if our players just keep working silently as we are now, I believe we will get a good result.]

Expectations for the South Africa match are growing as the contributions of the "young blood"—including Eom Ji-sung, Yang Hyun-jun, and Oh Hyeon-gyu, who scored the comeback goal against the Czech Republic—who are playing on the World Cup stage for the first time, are gradually increasing.

The players, who have been in training camp for over a month, plan to take a break from training tomorrow to spend time with their families and recharge.

There is no time or need to dwell on regrets.

Without overthinking, if they defeat South Africa, they can head to Los Angeles for the Round of 32 with high spirits.

(Video reporting: Hwang In-seok, Video editing: Jeon Min-gyu)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.