Iceland football coach wants to emulate S. Korean style of play

All News 10:49 November 10, 2022

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, Nov. 10 (Yonhap) -- On the eve of his team's friendly football match against South Korea, Iceland head coach Arnar Vidarsson said Thursday he'd like his country to model their game after the upcoming opponent.

Iceland, world No. 62, will meet the 28th-ranked South Korea at 8 p.m. Friday at Hwaseong Sports Complex Main Stadium in Hwaseong, about 40 kilometers south of Seoul. It will be the second meeting of the two countries, following a 5-1 rout by South Korea in January in Turkey.

This match carries much different meaning for the teams involved. It will be the final match before the upcoming FIFA World Cup for South Korea, and head coach Paulo Bento will have his final look at players on the roster bubble before announcing his 26-man squad Saturday. Iceland, on the other hand, will not play at the World Cup, and Vidarsson said Friday's match will be "a great experience for our young team."

Arnar Vidarsson (L), head coach of the Iceland men's national football team, and defender Hoskuldur Gunnlaugsson attend an online press conference on Nov. 10, 2022, the eve of a friendly match against South Korea, in this photo captured from the YouTube footage of the presser. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

"The strength of the Korean team is ... in my opinion, it's one of the top-10 pressing teams in the world," Vidarsson said in an online prematch press conference. "Really fast players, players who are able to cover big distances at high speeds. It's modern football with high intensity and good pressure."

As for what he hopes to take away from this week, Vidarsson said he wanted to see his players develop a style of play that's similar to that of South Korea.

"We want to get good pressure on the ball. We also want to play fast and attack," the coach said. "The main goal is to keep on developing this philosophy. This is why it's really important for us to get a game against a big team like the team we're playing tomorrow."

Defender Hoskuldur Gunnlaugsson agreed with his coach that South Korea have players who are "really fast and technical," and added, "We need to be at our absolute best to play a good game.

"If you want to press them high, they are technical (enough) to play through you," Gunnlaugsson said. "You really need to be on your toes to defend these technically good, fast and clever players of South Korea."

jeeho@yna.co.kr
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