Venezuela coach highlights South Korea's defensive gaps ahead of Ulsan clash

South Korea's national team, led by interim coach Roberto Moreno, will face Venezuela at Ulsan's Munsu Football Stadium on October 2 at 8:20pm local time. The match follows two very different performances against South American sides.

Two contrasting faces

On September 24, South Korea beat Ecuador 3-0, marking Moreno's first win since taking charge. Just four days later, however, on September 28 at Seoul World Cup Stadium, the team suffered a heavy 1-4 defeat to Uruguay, managed by Diego Forlan.

Venezuela coach's assessment

Venezuela's 42-year-old coach Oswaldo Vizcarrondo analysed both Korean matches at a pre-match press conference on October 1 at Ulsan's sports complex. He said that against Ecuador, Korea had been "quite strong and aggressive, sharp in combination play and finishing near goal".

Against Uruguay, however, Vizcarrondo noted that "defensive gaps appeared". He explained that Uruguay, familiar with South American-style counterattacks from facing similar opponents often, exploited Korea's weaknesses, scored early and then controlled the match comfortably. According to Vizcarrondo, Korea conceded three goals in the first half alone against Uruguay — problems arose both from a breakdown in forward pressing and difficulty covering full-backs who had pushed forward in attack. In the second half, substitutions brought more balance to the game, though Vizcarrondo stressed there was a significant difference between the two Korean performances overall.

Moreno's response

At his own press conference the same day, Moreno confirmed he had held individual and team meetings with players following the Uruguay loss. He said the issues were more collective than individual, and that the team was working on solutions centred on defending together — citing the principle that all 11 players should defend and attack as a unit. He pointed to forward Oh Hyeon-gyu as an example, noting he is also the team's "first defender".

Vizcarrondo concluded by expressing respect for South Korea, adding that the upcoming match would help clarify where both teams currently stand.