Cho Kyu-seong (25, Jeonbuk Hyundai) and Dabinson Sanchez (26, Tottenham) face off again.
The Korea Football Association (KFA) officially announced on the 6th, “On March 24, we will play a friendly A match against Colombia in Korea.” Since this period is the A-match period designated by FIFA, both teams will be the best members. 안전놀이터
Cho Kyu-sung and Sanchez are highly likely to be selected for the Korean national soccer team and the Colombia national soccer team, respectively. These two are not first-time acquaintances. They already met once last summer at the Seoul World Cup Stadium. In the friendly match invited to the Coupang Play Series, Cho Kyu-seong played for Team K-League and Sanchez played for Tottenham.
Sparks flew in the first half of this match. Cho Kyu-sung tripped on Sanchez’s foot while dribbling inside the Tottenham penalty box. When referee Kim Jong-hyeok did not declare a penalty kick (PK), Cho Kyu-seong protested to the referee with open arms.
At this time, Sanchez pushed Cho Kyu-sung away and responded by saying, “Why is this a foul?” Lee Seung-woo, who can speak both Korean and Spanish, stopped the war of nerves between Cho Kyu-sung and Sanchez. Sanchez continued to shoot Cho Kyu-sung as if his anger was not resolved.
In terms of performance, Cho Kyu-seong won. Cho Kyu-sung scored a header goal in the extra time of the first half, winning the match against Sanchez. The ball hit by Cho Kyu-sung’s head was put right into the corner of Tottenham’s goal. The match ended with Tottenham winning 6-3.
After about 8 months, they meet again. In the meantime, Cho Kyu-seong participated in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and became a global star with multiple goals against Ghana. Sanchez’s Colombia failed to qualify for the World Cup after being eliminated in the South American qualifiers. Sanchez had to watch a foreign country game on TV at home.
Besides Cho Kyu-seong and Sanchez, there are other players who have a deep relationship. Sanchez is also a Tottenham teammate of South Korean captain Son Heung-min. Also, James Rodriguez plays for Olympiacos in Greece along with Hwang In-beom. It is still unknown what kind of squads the two teams will form, but as long as there are no major variables, Cho Kyu-seong, Son Heung-min, Hwang In-beom, Sanchez, and Hames are expected to participate.
Meanwhile, this match is the debut match of the new Korean coach. After the World Cup in Qatar, coach Paulo Bento returned to his home country, Portugal. The Korea Football Association is looking for a new coach by appointing Mikhail Müller, head of the Power Reinforcement Committee, right after the World Cup in Qatar. Bento’s successor coach is expected to lead Korea for four years, from the game against Colombia to the 2026 World Cup in North and Central America.