Coach Hong Myung-bo heads to Washington for World Cup draw

It’s that time again — the draw for the World Cup takes place Saturday morning, Seoul time. When fans wake up, Korea’s three group opponents will be known, the excitement will move up a level, and the planning can really start. For the 11th time in a row, Korea is involved. It really is a remarkable streak. The last time it didn’t happen was way back in 1982. You have to be in your 50s to remember a World Cup without the Taeguk Warriors. You don’t have to be quite so old to remember the last time the tournament took place in the United States. That was 1994, when Korea finished third in Group C behind Germany and Spain. Hong Myung-bo scored in both of those games, and he now returns to the U.S. as Korea’s head coach. There is some optimism. The tournament has been expanded from 32 teams to 48. Whatever the rights and wrongs of that decision, it not only takes the pressure off during qualification, with Asia sending eight teams instead of four, it also makes getting to the knockout stages easier. The top two from each of the 12 groups of four will advance to the second round,Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times