Olympic Qualification Brings Mixed Emotions for Hwang Sunhong and Shin Tae-yong

Hwang Sun-hong (55), the coach leading South Korea's under-23 (U-23) football team, and Shin Tae-yong (54), the coach of the Indonesia national football team, experienced contrasting fortunes.

The South Korea U-23 football team, led by Coach Hwang, played against Indonesia, coached by Shin Tae-yong, in the quarterfinals of the 2024 AFC U-23 Asian Cup at Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium in Doha, Qatar, on the 26th. After a 2-2 draw over 120 minutes including extra time, South Korea lost 10-11 in the penalty shootout. The South Korean football team failed to qualify for the Olympic finals for the first time in 40 years since the 1984 Los Angeles (LA) Olympics. On the other hand, the Indonesian team’s chances of qualifying for the finals increased for the first time in 68 years since the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. If Indonesia wins in the semifinals, they will immediately secure a spot in the Olympic finals. Even if they lose, they can still qualify depending on the result of the third-place match.

Hwang Sun-hong, head coach of the U-23 South Korea national football team, is taking a commemorative photo with Shin Tae-yong, head coach of the Indonesia national team, ahead of the quarterfinal match against Indonesia in the 2024 AFC U-23 Asian Cup at Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium in Doha, Qatar, on the 24th (local time).
Photo by Yonhap News Agency. Korea Football Association

Coaches Hwang and Shin, who are of similar age, played together in the K League during their active careers and were teammates on the national team. As players, Coach Hwang had a more prominent career. However, since becoming coaches, Shin has taken the lead. Hwang was a representative striker of Korean football from the late 1980s to the early 2000s. He appeared 103 times for the national team, joining the Century Club. With 50 goals in A matches, he ranks second in Korea’s all-time scoring list, following Cha Bum-kun. In the first qualifying match against Poland for the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup, he scored the opening goal, paving the way for Korea’s historic run to the World Cup semifinals. That goal was praised as an incredible golden representative goal.

In contrast, Shin’s career as a national team player was relatively modest. From 1992 to 1997, he played 23 A matches and scored 3 goals. However, as a coach, Shin Tae-yong has achieved better results than he did as a player. Shin, who could not play in the World Cup as a player, led the team as a coach. After the dismissal of Coach Uli Stielike in 2014, Shin took over as interim coach of the national team and was appointed full-time coach in 2017, leading the team at the 2018 FIFA Russia World Cup. Although the team was eliminated early after losing the first two matches, they showed fighting spirit by defeating Germany 2-0 in the final match. Meanwhile, Coach Hwang only temporarily led two A matches after the dismissal of Coach J?rgen Klinsmann in March.

This was the first time the South Korea U-23 football team lost to Indonesia. Recognized for his coaching ability, Shin Tae-yong signed a contract extension with the Indonesian Football Association until 2027 before the match.